We Never Aligned Until We Stopped Drawing Systems and Started Drawing Tension
Article summary
We Never Aligned Until We Stopped Drawing Systems and Started Drawing Tension The diagrams looked clean. Our architecture wasn’t. We had layers, service boundaries, contract definitions-everything you’d expect. But teams were blocked. Releases were brittle. And nothing in the system map explained why. That’s when we realized: architecture diagrams weren’t telling us what was wrong. Because we weren’t sketching the forces. We were sketching the forms. Architectural clarity isn’t found in boxes and arrows. It lives in the tension between them. What Our Diagrams Hid Frustrated ownership boundaries. Services looked clean on paper, but every incident involved three teams arguing over logs. Nobody saw where the real coordination load sat. Hidden sources of coupling. Two services looked decoupled but shared a database table.
Read Full Article on MediumPractical takeaway
The main idea behind We Never Aligned Until We Stopped Drawing Systems and Started Drawing Tension is to help teams move from broad theory to clear, repeatable decision making. When teams apply this thinking, they reduce ambiguity and focus on improvements that deliver measurable momentum.
Example scenario
Imagine a team facing competing priorities. By applying the ideas in We Never Aligned Until We Stopped Drawing Systems and Started Drawing Tension, they can map dependencies, identify risks and choose the next move that produces progress without destabilizing their system.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Trying to redesign everything instead of taking small steps.
- Ignoring real constraints like incentives, ownership or legacy systems.
- Creating documents that do not lead to any change in code or decisions.
How to apply this in real work
Start by identifying where We Never Aligned Until We Stopped Drawing Systems and Started Drawing Tension already shows up in your architecture or delivery flow. Then pick one area where clarity would reduce friction. Apply the idea, measure its effect and share the learning.
Signs you are doing it correctly
- Teams make decisions faster and with fewer disagreements.
- Architectural conversations become clearer and less abstract.
- Changes land safely with fewer surprises or rework cycles.