My wife and I have recently decided to take on the treacherous plunge into one of the most time-consuming (second to having a child, of course) tasks: remodeling our house.  We’re taking our 1950’s one-story rambler into a two-story - a pretty awesome transformation thus far.  The remodel process reminds me of the parallels between building architecture and Web architecture.

I’ve often used building architecture to explain the purpose of Web architecture documents/deliverables, and thought it was worth sharing.  Three of the most common pieces of documentation when we’re designing a Web app include a data model, wireframes, and technical specifications.  Here are the explanations I use:

Data Model: Just as the foundation of the building is one of the most important components of a stable building, a sound data model is one of the most important foundations for building a Web application.  Defining a data model which is scalable yet stable will allow the application to grow while assuring maximum performance and up-time.

Wireframes: Architectural building drawings are an extremely useful and efficient way to communicate so many aspects of the building design between the customer and architect.  The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” proves very true here - in a single page, overall layout, window and door locations, room flow, and many other aspects are communicated.  Wireframes serve a similar purpose.  They allow the customer and Web architect to be talking the same language by viewing a rough mockup of all pages/screens within a web application and understand the the overall layout, page flows, etc.

Technical Specifications: Most homeowners are aware of where their lights and light switches, sinks, and heating/cooling vents are located (sometimes defined in the building drawings); but most aren’t (and don’t care to be) aware of the wiring, piping, and venting behind the walls.  The technical specifications is the plumbing, electrical, and venting behind the scenes - the technical stuff that ties everything together.

I find these comparisons help clients who are not as familiar with designing and building Web applications to understand the purpose of the documents produced during the design phase.  Hopefully they will help you as well!