An Everyday Example of Architecture Documentation: Subway Maps
• SEI Report
Publisher
Software Engineering Institute
Topic or Tag
Abstract
This white paper stems from an observation by the SEI's Paul Clements that
. . . subway maps are very good everyday examples of architecture documentation. A subway system architecture isn't a software architecture, for sure, but it's certainly an architecture. I started wondering what parts of our Views and Beyond approach to documentation I could recognize in a subway map and the associated pieces of information the public can find in a subway station.
Cite This SEI Report
Clements, P. (2009, November 30). An Everyday Example of Architecture Documentation: Subway Maps. Retrieved September 12, 2026, from https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/an-everyday-example-of-architecture-documentation-subway-maps/.
@techreport{clements_2009,
author={Clements, Paul},
title={An Everyday Example of Architecture Documentation: Subway Maps},
month={Nov},
year={2009},
institution={Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University},
url={https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/an-everyday-example-of-architecture-documentation-subway-maps/},
note={Accessed: 2026-Sep-12}
}
Clements, Paul. "An Everyday Example of Architecture Documentation: Subway Maps." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, November 30, 2009. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/an-everyday-example-of-architecture-documentation-subway-maps/.
P. Clements, "An Everyday Example of Architecture Documentation: Subway Maps," Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, 30-Nov-2009 [Online]. Available: https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/an-everyday-example-of-architecture-documentation-subway-maps/. [Accessed: 12-Sep-2026].
Clements, Paul. "An Everyday Example of Architecture Documentation: Subway Maps." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute, 30 Nov. 2009. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/an-everyday-example-of-architecture-documentation-subway-maps/. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.
Clements, Paul. An Everyday Example of Architecture Documentation: Subway Maps. Software Engineering Institute. 2009. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/an-everyday-example-of-architecture-documentation-subway-maps/