When it comes to building software, diagrams are critical. And too often wrong. Visual design tools are time-consuming, and synchronizing diagrams with systems only gets more difficult as complexity increases. In a traditional workflow, diagrams are often at least one step behind the latest code commit. But what if diagrams could live alongside the code they describe, be reviewed and versioned with it, and be automatically generated and deployed as part of the development process? That's Diagrams as Code (DaC) in practice.

In this session, you'll learn about DaC from both a conceptual and practical perspective, including how different tools fit different use cases and technical roles. We'll look in depth at Mermaid, the text-based, all-purpose diagramming and charting tool, and Structurizr, a visualization platform designed around the C4 model of software architecture. Along the way, you'll see how diagrams can become part of a modern development workflow, including source control, automated builds, and CI/CD with Azure DevOps and GitHub Actions.

This session is intended as a practical, workflow-focused introduction to diagrams as code for a broad technical audience including analysts, developers, and architects. The session is best suited for an intermediate audience, but is accessible to beginners through examples of browser-based and local tooling, with additional depth for more advanced attendees through containerized workflows and CI/CD integration. Mermaid and Structurizr are used as representative examples rather than as the focus of the session, and the emphasis is on treating diagrams as versioned, reviewable, and buildable artifacts that can be managed and delivered through the same workflows used for application code. This session has not previously been presented at a public conference.

All of my sessions are designed to encourage audience participation (to the extent possible given the specific venue), with planned discussion points throughout to keep attendees engaged. I am an experienced conference speaker, with prior appearances at CodeMash, Agile2019, Stir Trek, and other regional technology conferences. The focus of my sessions is on practical instruction combined with an engaging, audience-centered delivery style. No special technical requirements beyond standard presentation capabilities.