Results
Single source of truth
Quickly identify which team to contact
Analyze dependencies across systems
Introduction
Fardjad Davari is a software engineer and architect with over 15 years of experience in software development, technical leadership, and collaborative system design. Currently a consultant with Xebia, he has worked across industries including e-commerce, where he helped organizations operate more efficiently at scale by aligning teams and enabling them to design software collaboratively and with intent.
Problem
Fardjad's experience in the e-commerce domain highlighted several common challenges in software architecture documentation and collaboration:
1. Scattered and inconsistent documentation
Teams were using a mix of tools such as Draw.io, Excalidraw, Mermaid, and PlantUML, along with diagrams embedded in Confluence or code repositories. This led to duplication, fragmentation, and difficulty maintaining a single source of truth.
2. Keeping documentation up to date
At scale, maintaining hand-crafted diagrams and documents quickly became unsustainable. Automation could map systems, but failed to capture the intent and reasoning behind architectural decisions.
3. Collaborating across technical and non-technical teams
Without a unified, shared model, it was difficult for engineers, managers, and support teams to interact with architecture in a meaningful way.
"Since early 2024, IcePanel became the source of truth for our architecture model. This enabled us to consolidate previously scattered diagrams into a unified model that everyone in the organization could access."
How IcePanel helped
IcePanel provided a way for Fardjad and his teams to address these challenges and build a more collaborative and intentional approach to architecture.
1. Creating a unified source of truth
Since early 2024, IcePanel became the organization's central architecture model, consolidating previously scattered diagrams into one shared place. This made it easier for teams to align, collaborate, and understand the bigger picture.
2. Supporting the C4 model at scale
By adopting IcePanel for C4 modelling, teams could maintain up-to-date diagrams, reducing inconsistencies and improving knowledge sharing. Developers, engineering managers, and even the 24/7 support team began using the model consistently.
3. Streamlining collaboration across teams
Both technical and non-technical stakeholders were able to interact with the model, whether for analyzing dependencies, planning changes, or supporting security audits. In sensitive areas like payments and authentication, the unified model helped security experts review and validate designs before implementation.
Full interview
Read our full ice-breaker interview with Fardjad here.
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