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Caseum

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Caseum is a simple approach to software architecture that combines multiple views to boost understanding and empathy across roles.

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Caseum combines these views:

  • Components using C4
  • Actors using roles
  • Stories using Gherkin
  • Events using event storming
  • UI using wireframes
  • Models using facts
Several screenshots of architecture views

Together these views fully describe a software system.

Not all projects need all views.

Caseum is for doing just enough architecture. It has three stages:

  1. whiteboarding & dialogue
  2. digital diagrams & decision records
  3. models as code & executable specifications

Not all projects need all stages.

See the guide on stages of architecture. See the guide on as-is and to-be designs for working on existing projects.

Screenshot of a slack channel being used to record decisions

Architecture records the important design decisions for a system. The records are for communicating with current and future people working on and with the software.

See the guide on recording decisions.

Partial fact-based model diagram

The primary tools used by Caseum are:

  • Whiteboards, markers, and sticky notes
  • Draw.io for digital diagrams
  • Markdown text files for decision records
  • Model specification in structured text formats (Structurizr C4, Gherkin, LinkML and AsyncAPI JSON)

See the guides on whiteboarding architecture and on using draw.io for architecture.

Different tools are available per view per stage:

Whiteboarding &
Dialogue
Diagrams &
Decision Records
Models &
Executable Specifications
ComponentsBoxes & linesC4 Draw.io LibraryC4 as Code
ActorsRoles & needsRole Markdown Template-
StoriesGoals & epicsUser Story Markdown TemplateGherkin
EventsEvent StormingES Draw.io LibraryAsyncAPI
UIBoxes & linesWireframes Draw.io Library-
ModelsCircles & linesModel diagramsLinkML

Creative Commons LicenseCaseum by Leo Simons is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

See LICENSE.txt for a plain text copy of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for details on how to contribute to Caseum.

See Code of Conduct for details on how to participate in the Caseum community.