Results
Less time spent updating diagrams
Clear communication across teams
Audit-friendly, client-ready visuals
Introduction
Mladen Stanojevic is a software architect at Sotex Solutions, a development consultancy that helps teams in regulated industries (energy, healthcare, and more) build fast, compliant digital products. Mladen leads architecture, auditing existing systems, shaping new projects, and advising on delivery.
Problem
Growth across multiple teams surfaced a set of architecture challenges:
1. Staying hands-on without becoming "ivory tower."
Mladen values diving into code to validate decisions and manage risk, but needed a lightweight way to keep designs aligned with reality across several parallel projects.
2. Communicating architecture clearly to mixed audiences.
Stakeholders (product, engineering, compliance) needed a shared, understandable view of systems, without the overhead of heavyweight EA tooling or the brittleness of static diagrams.
3. Tooling friction slowed delivery.
Using general-purpose diagramming (e.g., Draw.io + plugins) was time-consuming to set up and painful to change, making rapid iterations costly under tight deadlines.
"I used IcePanel to document architecture in hours, not days, and make it presentable"
How IcePanel helped
1. Communication that meets people where they are
The C4 model in IcePanel gives "just enough" abstraction for agile environments. Clear context and container views for stakeholders, with the option to drill down for engineers.
"C4 helped me communicate with stakeholders… just enough abstraction without the overhead of enterprise tools."
2. From days to hours for modelling & iteration
Switching from generic diagramming to IcePanel's opinionated, model-based approach cut documentation time dramatically, especially under tight deadlines. Updates are quick, so designs stay in sync with the code.
3. Audit-friendly, client-ready visuals
For regulated domains, IcePanel's structured views make it easier to validate designs, communicate trade-offs, and provide interactive documentation across the SDLC. Useful for audits, reviews, and stakeholder sign-off.
Full interview
Read our full ice-breaker interview with Mladen here.
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