# Architect's Four Key Work Products **In short:** The architect's four key work products are a vision, a context view, an architecture overview and an operational model. Together they cover goals, environment, main parts and how the system runs. ## Explanation The four work products frame what an architect delivers. Each one answers a different question for a different audience. **Vision.** The vision states what the stakeholders (people with an interest in the system) care about most. The arc42 inception canvas has a vision-like step. It asks for the three most important quality goals of the stakeholders. **Context view.** The context view shows the system as a black box. A black box shows only the outside, not the inside. It lists the communication partners and the data exchanged with them, so all stakeholders can see what flows in and out. It also helps spot communication paths and technical risks. See the articles Context View and System Context Diagram. **Architecture overview.** The overview shows the key components of the system, as the current state (AS-IS) and the target state (TO-BE). See AS-IS and TO-BE View. C4 offers a container diagram for this level of zoom. The verified facts here say little more about the overview. **Operational model.** The operational model shows how the system runs in its environment. Rozanski and Woods' Operational viewpoint is the closest counterpart. It covers how a system is run, administered and supported in production. arc42 advises capturing only the infrastructure needed to show where building blocks are deployed. Detailed hardware decisions go to hardware experts. **Mapping to other approaches.** The context view matches arc42 Context and Scope and the C4 context diagram. The operational model matches the arc42 deployment view. C4 names four diagram levels: context, containers, components and code. It says the context and container diagrams are enough for most teams. That supports a lean minimum of documentation. **Talking to stakeholders.** C4's levels of zoom let you tell different stories to different audiences. The same idea applies here. Each work product serves a different audience. ## Example A team builds an online booking tool. The vision names three quality goals that matter most to its users. The context view draws the tool as one box, with arrows to the payment provider and the email service. The overview splits the tool into a web app, a booking service and a database. The operational model shows where those parts run and who administers them. ## Trade-offs The supporting facts say nothing about cost or scalability in the operational model. They also say nothing about where the four-work-products idea comes from. This article does not cover either. Keeping to the four work products, or to C4's context and container levels, keeps documentation small. It leaves out detail such as component and code views. The facts do not say when that detail becomes necessary. ## Checks - The context view shows the system as a black box with its communication partners and the data exchanged. - The most important stakeholder quality goals are stated, for example the top three. - The deployment or operational description shows only the infrastructure needed to place the building blocks. - At least a context and a container level view exist, which suffices for most teams. ## Related - [Context View](https://arc.fuet.ch/concepts/vision-stakeholders/context-view.md) - [C4 Model](https://arc.fuet.ch/concepts/documentation/c4-model.md) - [AS-IS and TO-BE View](https://arc.fuet.ch/concepts/documentation/as-is-and-to-be-view.md) - [arc42 Architecture Documentation Template](https://arc.fuet.ch/concepts/documentation/arc42-documentation-template.md) - [Additional Architecture Viewpoints (Security, Information, Operational, Development, Process, Evolution)](https://arc.fuet.ch/concepts/documentation/additional-architecture-views-and-perspectives.md) - [Container Diagram (C4 Level 2)](https://arc.fuet.ch/concepts/documentation/c4-container-diagram.md) - [Deployment View](https://arc.fuet.ch/concepts/documentation/distribution-view.md) - [Vision Statement](https://arc.fuet.ch/concepts/vision-stakeholders/vision-statement.md) ## Sources - [3 - Context and scope | arc42 Documentation](https://docs.arc42.org/section-3/) — docs.arc42.org, accessed 2026-11-09 - [Architecture Inception Canvas - Software Architecture Canvas](https://canvas.arc42.org/architecture-inception-canvas) — canvas.arc42.org, accessed 2026-11-09 - [7 - Deployment view | arc42 Documentation](https://docs.arc42.org/section-7/) — docs.arc42.org, accessed 2026-11-09 - [Our Viewpoint Catalog | Software Systems Architecture: Viewpoints and Views | InformIT](https://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1766161&seqNum=6) — informit.com, accessed 2026-11-09 - [Diagrams | C4 model](https://c4model.com/diagrams) — c4model.com, accessed 2026-11-09