Do your diagrams truly visualize the software your team has to make? Do they actually guide development? Or have you become the dreaded “white board architect,” the pie-in-the-sky scribbler of useless boxes and arrows? Software architect Nathaniel Schutta erases those lousy sketches and replaces them with the diagrams you need: concept, context, component, deployment, sequence, security, and disaster recovery.

Don’t expect to just sit back and watch this video. This is hands-on learning, colored markers required. Throughout the presentation, you’ll be asked to pause the video to make your own diagrams. When you re-start, Schutta will be there to show you some better ones.

• Understand the seven best diagrams to use—then practice drawing them
• Discover if UML is even necessary
• Learn about quality attributes, data models, and managing stakeholders
• Sample an architecture review process that works for most software designers
• Manage the art of taking criticism regarding your role as a software architect