System context
Show who talks to whom so the trust boundary is visible.
Related: Reference architecture
When to use
Use as the first architecture slide. Do not use for internal module graphs (that is reference architecture). Do not use consulting tables of integrations.
Guidelines
A handful of named actors and one sentence about the boundary. Generic boxes only.
Example
Harbor context
Partners never talk to the warehouse DB; they talk to Harbor API.
Partner portal
Harbor API
Harbor app
Warehouse DB
Trust boundary: API is the only partner entry
Partner → API → app → DB. Steal the boundary sentence, not a logo orchard.
Rules
- Family is Cloud architecture.
- Every box has a human-readable name. No vendor logos.
- The title states the boundary or the forbidden path.
- Five or fewer actors on this slide.
User recipe
Goal: show the system in its world.
Inputs: actors, the trust boundary.
Constraints: System context Rules.
Prompt skeleton: “Make a system-context slide in family cloud-architecture using the System context rules. Actors: [list]. Boundary: [sentence].”
Anti-patterns
- Internal queues on the context slide.
- AWS/Azure product icons.