Architecture is the organisation of a solution and the relationships that matter to its goals and qualities. An architecture description supports discussion: it presents a system from the perspectives of people who make decisions, build it and carry the risk.

ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2022 specifies requirements for an architecture description and distinguishes that description from the architecture itself. It does not prescribe one notation or one design method.

In practice: before drawing a diagram, write down the goal, stakeholders, important scenarios, constraints and quality concerns that could change the solution.