Webinar by Igor Kolosov, Automation/Performance Architect, Consultant at GlobalLogic, Kharkiv Fast and effective analysis of architecture diagrams: Black-box is not a panacea Pitfalls of chaotic approach From chaos to process How to speed up architecture diagram analysis? Collecting valuable inputs Workshop with examples

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Fast and effective analysis of architecture
diagrams
May 2020
Igor Kolosov

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Black-box technique is not a panacea
● Test cases are challenging to design without having precise
functional specifications
● It is challenging to identify tricky inputs if the test cases are
not developed based on specifications
● It is challenging to identify all possible inputs in the limited
testing time. As a result, writing test cases may be slow and
painful
● There are chances of having unidentified paths during the
testing process
● There is a high probability of repeating tests already
performed by the developer
● The tester can never be sure of how much of the SUT has
been tested

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Benefits of architecture visualization for QA
● Speeds up an understanding of the system and its context
● Unifies vision of the system across team members
● Represents complicated things in a relatively simple way via
visual pseudo-language
● Builds neural connections in your brain
● Improves collaboration
● Helps to refine architecture
● Helps to build sufficient test coverage
● Helps to spot major system weaknesses and bottlenecks
● Helps to ask the right questions

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Common case: chaotic analysis algorithm
Presentation stage
● Listen to presenter’s 5-minute mumbling about diagram
● Catch yourself on thought like “Whatever, I’ll take a look at attachment”
● Secretly keep an eye on your messenger or YouTube
● Yawn
● Mimic serious face
Independent analysis
● Open diagram attachment in a couple of days
● Zoom
● Look here
● And there
● Read some label
● Stare at the monitor a little bit
● Unzoom
● Repeat several times chaotically
● Memorize 10%

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What’s wrong with chaotic analysis?
● Huge amounts of time wasted
● Low efficiency
● Low memorization
● High forgetfulness
● System vision is unclear
● Unstructured (or missing) inputs for test coverage
● Completely fails on really complex diagrams

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Example: Amazon microservice death star

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Root causes
● Big gap in background knowledge
● Not enough practical experience
● No process
● Visuals are unfamiliar
● High complexity
● Lack of time
● Rushing
● Procrastination
● Fear of the unknown
● Focus issues
● No clear goal

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From chaos to process: finding approach
● Top-down information processing
We form our perceptions starting with a big object, concept,
or idea before working our way toward more detailed
information. In other words, top-down processing happens
when we work from the general to the specific—the big
picture to the tiny details.
● Bottom-up information processing
We piece together objects, concepts, or ideas to give rise to
more complex systems, thus making the original systems
sub-systems of the emergent system. In other words,
bottom-up processing happens when we work from specifics
to the big picture

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From chaos to process: finding approach
● Top-down information processing
We form our perceptions starting with a big object, concept,
or idea before working our way toward more detailed
information. In other words, top-down processing happens
when we work from the general to the specific—the big
picture to the tiny details.
● Bottom-up information processing
We piece together objects, concepts, or ideas to give rise to
more complex systems, thus making the original systems
sub-systems of the emergent system. In other words,
bottom-up processing happens when we work from specifics
to the big picture

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From chaos to process: simple top-down algorithm
1. Set your goal
2. Qualify big picture
● define diagram type
● define relative complexity
● define business domain
● define the purpose of the system
3. Define architecture style
4. Define key system layers
5. Define interaction points
● define interaction points for end users
● define public access points for 3rd-party
6. Define technical stack
7. Define component groups
8. Define key components and their role
9. Define key data types
10. Follow critical paths
11. Define sizes and amounts
12. Assess extensibility and scalability
13. Define open questions

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Useful basic inputs for system understanding
● Identify your end-user audience (typical user profile, user
roles, user groups etc.)
● Collect info about your business domain specifics
● Ask about integration with 3rd-party systems
● Identify key use cases for the system
● Ask about existence of NFRs such as scalability, stability,
performance etc.
● Check existence of SLAs
● Try to understand which security measures system will
incorporate
● Ask about domain regulations, protocols and standards
● Think about unusual tools or emulators. Do you need
something custom to test this properly?

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Tips for optimization: let’s speed-up!
● Get familiar with different diagram types
● Get familiar with various architecture styles
● Keep an eye on up-to-date notations & icon sets
● Try to build a couple of diagrams on your own
● Write down notes during the analysis
● Write down your questions
● Follow the same process
● Practice the analysis
● Use your imagination for solid brain connections
● Try to understand your business domain specifics

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Useful links
● UML tutorials
https://www.uml.org/resource-hub.htm
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/uml/index.htm
● Lots of user-friendly info about architecture and system
design
https://github.com/donnemartin/system-design-primer
● Azure Architecture Center
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/
● AWS Architecture Center
https://aws.amazon.com/architecture
● Google Cloud solutions
https://cloud.google.com/solutions

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Example: E-commerce website running in a secured App
Service Environment

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Example: data flow
1. Customer accesses the public website in browser.
2. Browser pulls static resources and product images from Azure Content Delivery Network.
3. Content Delivery Network pulls product images from blob storage.
4. Customer searches for products.
5. Public website pulls product catalog from product database.
6. Page output is cached in the Azure Cache for Redis.
7. Customer creates new orders.
8. Public website invokes orders web service.
9. Orders web service saves/loads orders from Azure SQL Database.
10. Employee accesses the admin website in browser.
11. Employee authenticates against Azure Active Directory (Azure AD).
12. Employee searches orders.
13. Admin website invokes orders web service.

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Example: components
1. App Service: Quickly create powerful cloud apps for web and mobile
2. Web Apps: An App Service Web App runs in a single region, accessible to web and mobile browsers
3. Azure SQL Database: Managed, intelligent SQL in the cloud
4. API Apps: Publish APIs to external, partner, and employee developers securely and at scale.
5. Application Insights: Detect, triage, and diagnose issues in your web apps and services
6. Application Gateway: Build secure, scalable, and highly available web front ends in Azure
7. Azure Cache for Redis: Power applications with high-throughput, low-latency data access
8. Content Delivery Network: Ensure secure, reliable content delivery with broad global reach
9. Azure Active Directory: Synchronize on-premises directories and enable single sign-on
10. Blob Storage: Azure Blob storage is a Massively scalable object storage for any type of unstructured
data—images, videos, audio, documents, and more—easily and cost-effectively.

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How to memorize effectively?
● Imagination is a powerful tool
● Mnemonic techniques are not something mythical
● Mnemonic techniques are working for complex IT stuff like
design patterns or system architecture too
● If you are skeptical, try it at least once then decide
● Not each method will work for you. Find the most effective for
you personally
● Useful articles
https://artofmemory.com/wiki/Main_Page

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Short video about Memory Palace technique

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Q&A

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