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Architecture Documentation With AI

5 min read
Software ArchSolutions ArchEnterprise Arch

Solutions Arch

Client-facing docs need your voice. Use AI for structure and boilerplate.

Enterprise Arch

AI can maintain system catalogs. You own the taxonomy and governance rules.

Architecture Documentation With AI

TL;DR

  • AI is great at structure, templates, and first drafts. Terrible at accuracy and nuance.
  • Use AI to generate ADRs and diagrams from your notes. Never trust it to document systems it hasn't "seen."
  • The rule: AI writes the skeleton. You fill in the facts and sign off.

Documentation is the thing everyone agrees is important and nobody has time for. AI changes that — but only if you use it right. Bad docs written fast are worse than no docs. Good docs written fast are a superpower.

What AI Handles Well

ADR (Architecture Decision Record) structure

  • "Draft an ADR for [decision]. Include: context, options, decision, consequences."
  • AI produces a template. You replace placeholders with your actual context, options, and reasoning.

Diagram generation

  • Describe your system in text. Ask AI for Mermaid, PlantUML, or C4 diagram code.
  • Review every box and arrow. AI hallucinates connections. You're the source of truth.

Boilerplate and formatting

  • Runbooks, glossary entries, "how to read this doc" sections — AI drafts. You trim and correct.

Keeping docs in sync

  • "Here's our current architecture. We're adding [X]. Update the doc." — AI can propose changes. You verify.

What AI Gets Wrong

Specifics

  • Service names, port numbers, dependency versions — AI guesses. Never copy-paste these without verification.

Historical accuracy

  • "Why did we choose X?" — AI will invent a plausible story. Only you know the real one.

Nuance and exceptions

  • "We use Y except in Z case" — AI tends to oversimplify. Edge cases get dropped.

Consistency with existing docs

  • AI doesn't read your full doc set. It can introduce terminology or structure that conflicts with what you have.

The Documentation Workflow

  1. You provide the facts — Bullet points, notes, a whiteboard photo. The raw material.
  2. AI structures and drafts — "Turn this into an ADR" or "Create a C4 diagram from this."
  3. You review and correct — Every technical detail, every "we chose X because Y."
  4. You own the final version — If it's wrong, it's on you. AI is a ghostwriter, not an author.

Manual process. Repetitive tasks. Limited scale.

Click "With AI" to see the difference →

Quick Check

What remains human when AI automates more of this role?

Do This Next

  1. Pick one decision you made recently that isn't documented. Write 5 bullet points. Ask AI to draft an ADR. Edit it until it's accurate. Publish it.
  2. Create a doc template — ADR, system overview, runbook. Use AI to generate the first version. Customize for your org. Save it.
  3. Set a rule — No AI-generated doc goes to stakeholders without human review. One mistake erodes trust. Enforce it.