Architecture Documentation Refresh for a 10-Year-Old Platform
Overview
What this challenge is about.
Audit existing docs: tag each page as keep / kill / refresh. Apply the C4 model (Context, Container, Component, Code) — produce 1 Context diagram, 4 Container diagrams (per major subsystem), and around 12 Component diagrams. Write the new architecture overview in arc42 template (12 sections). Establish an ADR pattern for new decisions going forward, with a 'living' ADR index. Define a maintenance cadence: who owns which diagrams, how new decisions land, how docs get pruned. Deliver: refreshed doc set (C4 + arc42), ADR index, 6-page maintenance playbook, and a 'ramp in 1 week' new-hire reading path.
The Brief
What you'll do, and what you'll demonstrate.
Refresh 10 years of architecture documentation into a C4 + arc42 + ADR set new hires can ramp on in 1 week, with a maintenance playbook that prevents re-rot.
Earning criteria — what you'll demonstrate
- Apply the C4 model end-to-end on a real enterprise codebase
- Use the arc42 template to structure an architecture overview
- Backfill ADRs without rewriting history, while making future decisions traceable
- Design a documentation-maintenance cadence that survives team turnover
Program Fit
Where this fits in your program.
Sharpens the same skills your degree expects you to demonstrate.
Skills
Skills you'll demonstrate.
Each one shows up on your verified credential.
Careers
Roles this prepares you for.
Real titles. Real skill bridges. Pick the one closest to your trajectory.
Career mappings coming soon.