View types
Each view answers one question for one audience, as viewpoints do in ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010. iyedy has twelve view types: the C4 levels, logical layers, deployment and network, data flow and integration, and three that tell a story over time: dynamic, sequence and BPMN.
On this page
| View type | Answers | Drawn from | iyedy draws it | In the New view menu |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landscape | which systems we run and how they relate | the whole model | when you have two systems of your own | no |
| System context | who uses this system, what it depends on | one system | one per system | yes |
| Containers | what runs inside the system and who calls whom | one system | when the system has containers | yes |
| Components | how one container is built | one container | when the container has components | yes |
| Logical layers | how the containers stack in layers | one system | no | no |
| Deployment | where each container runs | one environment | one per environment | yes |
| Network | how traffic is routed between networks | one environment | when the environment models its network | yes |
| Data flow | which data moves where, across which boundaries | one system | no | yes |
| Integration | how systems talk: APIs, queues, topics, buses | one system | no | yes |
| Dynamic | one scenario, as numbered steps on the structure | one scenario | one per scenario | no |
| Sequence | one scenario, as messages along lifelines | one scenario | one per scenario | yes |
| BPMN | one business process, its tasks and decisions | one process | one per process | yes |
A view type that needs something the model lacks is greyed out in the menu, with the reason, for example Needs a container in the model.
Landscape
All your software systems, the people around them and the external systems they use, without their insides. Use it to show a portfolio, for example the Claims Platform next to the Policy System and the Billing System. Technology labels are hidden by default.
System context
One system as a single box, with the people who use it and the systems it calls or is called by. The first view to show a sponsor or another team: the Claims Platform, its policyholders and claims handlers, and Payments. Technology labels are hidden by default.
Containers
The inside of one system: apps, services, functions, databases, queues, and the relationships between them, each with its technology. For the Claims Platform: Mobile app, API gateway, Claims Service and the claims database. The C4 level most teams draw first.
Components
The inside of one container: its components and how they call each other and the rest of the system. Use it for a service whose structure matters to its reviewers, for example the Claims Service and its intake, assessment and payment components.
Logical layers
The containers of one system placed in layer bands: channels, edge, experience, domain, integration, data and platform. It shows at a glance which part of the system does what, independently of how it is deployed.
Deployment
One environment, for example prod: cloud accounts, regions, networks, subnets, clusters and hosts, with an instance of each container where it runs. Elements show their provider's official logo when one matches (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Kubernetes). Network and edge shapes (load balancer, firewall, DNS, CDN, VPN) and zones such as region or subnet are offered only in this view. See Shapes and official logos.
Network
The network side of one environment: address plans, routes, a flow matrix and network rules, checked against the deployment model. iyedy draws it for an environment whose model describes routes, route tables, address pools or typed links.
Data flow
The data that moves between the people, containers and stores of one system, with the trust boundaries it crosses. Use it for a privacy or security review: which flows carry personal data out of the claims database, and which cross into Payments.
Integration
How one system talks to others: APIs, queues, topics, streams and integration buses, drawn as channels between the systems that use them. Use it when an integration platform sits between the Claims Platform and its partners.
Dynamic
One scenario drawn on the structure: the elements of the scenario, and its steps as numbered relationships between them (1, 2, 3…). It shows who does what in which order, on a drawing that keeps the structure.
Sequence
The same scenario as a sequence diagram: one lifeline per participant, messages in time order, top to bottom, with replies and numbering. Use it to walk a reviewer through "a policyholder submits a claim". See Draw a sequence or dynamic view.
BPMN
One business process in BPMN 2.0 notation: pools and lanes, events, tasks, gateways and the flows between them. Use it for the claims-handling process itself, next to the architecture that supports it. See Draw a process in BPMN.
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