Pick a notation
| Question | Use | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| What software systems exist, and how do they connect? | C4 | An actor, a system and its dependencies. |
| How do business, applications and technology relate? | ArchiMate | A service, its implementation and a consumer. |
| Who does what, in what order, with which handoffs? | BPMN Lite | One pool, a lane, a task and start/end events. |
| Which messages pass between participants over time? | Sequence | A request and its return. |
| What entities relate, and how many can participate? | Entity-relationship | Two entities and an explicit cardinality. |
| What decisions and branches make up this workflow? | Flowchart | A decision with labelled outcomes. |
Choose a level of detail
A first diagram should answer one question. Keep a detailed model behind it and create focused views as the model grows. For a quick discussion of steps, a flowchart may be sufficient; use BPMN Lite when responsibility and message handoffs matter.
Check the supported subset
The notation guides list the types available in Revelation. They also explain limits: BPMN Lite is a subset, ER attributes are properties rather than native database-column compartments, and sequence fragments do not implement every UML operand convention.
Use one model type at a time
A model has one notation. A C4 architecture and a BPMN process can describe the same service in separate models. Naming them consistently helps people find the right perspective without assuming automatic conversion.