Draw me a software or the art of diagrams that stick in the mind
summary
Argues that diagrams should favor clarity over completeness by removing clutter and explicitly noting what was omitted; shows real before/after examples where eliminating duplicate VM arrows and adding short notes made diagrams readable and sped approvals. Recommends concrete notations: label arrows with verbs, use arrow direction to show initiative, divide diagrams into zones, number steps, and keep diagrams as code using Mermaid in GitHub; use Excalidraw for quick sketches and yEd for large reference diagrams.
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chapters (11)
- 0:00Welcome
- 1:10Good diagrams matter
- 2:40Sacrifice clarity
- 4:46Diagrams convey message
- 7:35Arrow meaning in IT
- 9:24Create a legend
- 10:05Guide the reader
- 12:12Update diagrams
- 12:56Tools for maintainable diagrams
- 13:58Diagram software
- 15:01Conclusion
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