Cross-References

How concepts and sections connect across the handbook.

Section relationships

This diagram shows how the major sections build on and connect to each other:

"If you're reading X, also see Y" reference

Use this table to find related material. When you're deep in a topic, check this for complementary perspectives:

Topic	Primary	Related (foundation)	Related (application)	Related (operations)
Foundations	Foundational Concepts	—	Design Patterns	Architecture Governance
Design	Design Patterns	Core Design & Programming	Architectural Styles	Testing Strategy
Styles	Architectural Styles	Design Patterns	Distributed Systems, Data Architecture	Delivery Engineering
Distribution	Distributed Systems	Architectural Styles	API & Interface Design	Observability & Operations
Data	Data Architecture	Foundational Concepts	API & Interface Design, Cloud-Native	Testing Strategy
APIs	API & Interface Design	Core Design & Programming	Distributed Systems	Security Architecture
Deployment	Cloud-Native & Runtime	Architectural Styles	Delivery Engineering	Observability & Operations
Frontend	Frontend & Mobile	Quality Attributes	API & Interface Design	Observability & Operations
Testing	Testing Strategy	Core Design & Programming	Delivery Engineering	Quality Attributes
DevOps	Delivery Engineering	Testing Strategy	Cloud-Native & Runtime	Observability & Operations
Ops	Observability & Operations	Quality Attributes	Delivery Engineering	Security Architecture
Security	Security Architecture	Foundational Concepts	API & Interface Design	Observability & Operations, Architecture Governance
Governance	Architecture Governance	Core Design & Programming	Documentation & Modeling	Checklists & Templates
Domain Design	Domain-Driven Design	Foundational Concepts	Architectural Styles	Modernization & Migration
Migration	Modernization & Migration	Domain-Driven Design	Delivery Engineering	Testing Strategy

Concept connections

Some key concepts appear across multiple sections. Here's where to learn them in depth:

Resilience & Reliability

• Primary: Distributed Systems (resilience patterns section)
• Also see: Quality Attributes → Availability & Reliability; Observability & Operations → Alerting; Testing Strategy → Non-Functional Testing

Performance & Scalability

• Primary: Quality Attributes → Performance & Scalability
• Also see: Data Architecture → Performance & Scale; Cloud-Native & Runtime → Compute Models; Observability & Operations → Metrics

Security

• Primary: Security Architecture
• Also see: API & Interface Design → Security; Cloud-Native & Runtime → Networking; Data Architecture → Data Lifecycle & Compliance; Observability & Operations → Logging for Security

Consistency & Transactions

• Primary: Distributed Systems → Consistency Models; Data Architecture → Data Modeling
• Also see: Distributed Systems → Data in Microservices (Sagas, Outbox); Testing Strategy → Contract Tests

State Management & Synchronization

• Primary: Frontend & Mobile → State Management; Data Architecture → Data Modeling
• Also see: Frontend & Mobile → Offline Sync; Distributed Systems → Event-Driven; API & Interface Design → Webhooks

Observability

• Primary: Observability & Operations
• Also see: Quality Attributes (SLOs, SLIs); Testing Strategy (performance testing); Delivery Engineering (monitoring release health)

Governance & Decision-Making

• Primary: Architecture Governance & Organization
• Also see: Documentation & Modeling → ADRs; Checklists & Templates; Security Architecture → Compliance & Risk

Jump-in points by problem

Find the best section to start based on your immediate problem:

Problem	Start here	Then read	Then explore
"Our system is too slow"	Quality Attributes → Performance	Data Architecture → Performance & Scale	Cloud-Native → Networking; Testing Strategy → Performance Testing
"We're dropping requests in load"	Distributed Systems → Resilience	Observability → Metrics; Testing Strategy → Load Testing	Delivery Engineering → Capacity Planning
"Data consistency is broken"	Distributed Systems → Consistency Models	Data Architecture → Modeling; Distributed Systems → Sagas	Testing Strategy → Contract Tests
"We can't debug production issues"	Observability & Operations	Testing Strategy → Observability; Delivery Engineering → Logging	Quality Attributes → Reliability
"We're not secure"	Security Architecture	API & Interface Design → Security; Data Architecture → Data Protection	Architecture Governance → Compliance
"We need to modernize a monolith"	Domain-Driven Design → Strategic Design	Modernization & Migration	Delivery Engineering; Observability & Operations
"Frontend is slow"	Frontend & Mobile → Performance	Quality Attributes → Performance; API & Interface Design	Cloud-Native → Networking / CDN
"Mobile app is crashing"	Frontend & Mobile → Architecture	Testing Strategy → Mobile Testing	Observability & Operations
"Deployments fail constantly"	Delivery Engineering	Testing Strategy; Observability & Operations	Architecture Governance
"Team can't align on decisions"	Architecture Governance → Decision-Making	Documentation & Modeling → ADRs	Core Design & Programming

Cross-section learning journeys

"I want to build a high-performance system"

1. Start: Foundational Concepts (understanding scope & trade-offs)
2. Learn: Quality Attributes → Performance & Scalability
3. Design: Architectural Styles (monolith vs. distributed)
4. Build: Data Architecture → Performance & Scale; Caching & Indexing
5. Optimize: Cloud-Native & Runtime → Compute Models
6. Measure: Observability & Operations → Metrics
7. Test: Testing Strategy → Performance Testing

"I need to lead a platform engineering initiative"

1. Start: Foundational Concepts
2. Understand: Architectural Styles (modern platforms)
3. Study: Distributed Systems (service communication)
4. Build: Cloud-Native & Runtime (orchestration, networking)
5. Deliver: Delivery Engineering (infrastructure as code, policy)
6. Operate: Observability & Operations
7. Organize: Architecture Governance

"I'm transitioning to microservices"

1. Start: Foundational Concepts
2. Understand: Architectural Styles → Microservices
3. Plan: Domain-Driven Design → Strategic Design
4. Design: Distributed Systems (communication, consistency)
5. Build: Data Architecture → Microservices Data; API & Interface Design
6. Execute: Modernization & Migration (strangler fig, branch by abstraction)
7. Ship: Delivery Engineering; Testing Strategy; Observability

"I want to architect secure systems"

1. Start: Foundational Concepts
2. Learn: Core Design & Programming → Security Principles
3. Study: Security Architecture → Principles & Models
4. Design: Security Architecture → Threat Modeling; Identity & Access
5. Build: API & Interface Design → Security; Data Architecture → Data Protection
6. Operate: Observability & Operations → Logging for Security; Security Operations
7. Govern: Architecture Governance → Compliance & Risk

Takeaway

Concepts in this handbook are interconnected. No topic stands alone. Use these cross-references to:

1. Find prerequisites before diving deep into a topic
2. Explore complementary views of a concept from different angles
3. Jump directly to problems and follow a curated path to solutions
4. See how your current focus connects to the rest of architecture

If you're ever lost or unsure where to go next, come back to this page and pick your next section based on what you're trying to accomplish.

Ready to dive in? Head to Learning Order or use the table above to jump to your immediate need.