Think First

Architecture is the picture of how a building request travels through a system, not a catalogue of disconnected products.

A project owner asks for a meeting room that is ready for a presentation. The team needs to see what parts of the system must participate.

Draw the path of a room request

A simple system sketch links a user action or condition to control logic, devices that create the result, and feedback that lets people review it. The sketch identifies responsibilities; it is not an electrical design.

For “presentation ready,” draw the presenter’s action, a control decision, the room outcomes such as light and audio, and a confirmation visible to the presenter. If one outcome is uncertain, leave it as a labelled question rather than pretending the diagram solves it.

The sketch helps a team see dependencies. A room outcome can require more than one device category, while one control decision can affect several visible results.

1. Draw four boxes: request, control, outcome, feedback.
2. Place the presentation scenario into the boxes.
3. Circle one dependency needing an approved project decision.