The Claude drawio skill: 10 PMP-grade diagrams in one prompt

aws-solution-architect

Pairs the visual deliverable with the AWS-specific prose (Well-Architected pillars, cost notes) you would attach to the same RFP.

aws-managed

Lets Claude pull the actual VPC/subnet/ALB IDs from your account before drawing them, so the diagram matches reality instead of a template.

C4 system context diagram

Produce a Simon Brown-style C4 Level 1 system context for an internal auth service: the service in the centre, three persona boxes (employee, contractor, system admin), and four external systems (Okta, Postgres, Vault, the email provider).

ForStaff engineers writing an ADR or onboarding doc that needs the canonical C4 look.

The prompt

Use the drawio-diagrams-enhanced skill with C4 notation. Read @docs/adr/0017-auth-service.md for the actor list. Output `docs/diagrams/c4-l1-auth.drawio` with one page sized 1200x800. Centre the auth service as a C4 software system box (rounded=1; fillColor=#1168bd; strokeColor=#0b4884; fontColor=#ffffff) at x=480,y=320 size 240x120. Place three person actors above (Employee, Contractor, IT Admin) using the C4 person shape (`shape=mxgraph.c4.person2;fillColor=#08427B`). Place four external systems below — Okta, Postgres, Vault, SendGrid — as grey rounded boxes (fillColor=#999999;strokeColor=#6b6b6b). Use solid lines for sync HTTPS and dashed for async webhooks; label every relationship with verb + protocol (e.g. "Authenticates via [HTTPS]"). gridSize=10, snap every shape to the grid.

What slides.md looks like

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net">
  <diagram id="c4ctx" name="C4 - System Context">
    <mxGraphModel gridSize="10" pageWidth="1200" pageHeight="800">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0"/><mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>
        <mxCell id="emp" value="Employee&#10;[Person]" style="shape=mxgraph.c4.person2;fillColor=#08427B;fontColor=#ffffff" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="120" y="80" width="120" height="160" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="auth" value="Auth Service&#10;[Software System]" style="rounded=1;fillColor=#1168bd;strokeColor=#0b4884;fontColor=#ffffff" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="480" y="320" width="240" height="120" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="okta" value="Okta&#10;[External IdP]" style="rounded=1;fillColor=#999999;fontColor=#ffffff" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="200" y="600" width="160" height="80" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="r1" value="Authenticates via [HTTPS]" style="endArrow=block" edge="1" parent="1" source="emp" target="auth"/>
        <mxCell id="r2" value="Federates SAML [HTTPS]" style="endArrow=block;dashed=1" edge="1" parent="1" source="auth" target="okta"/>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

One-line tweak

Promote it to a C4 Level 2 (container) view by replacing the single auth-service box with three container boxes — Web App, API, Worker — and re-routing the persona arrows to the Web App box only.

Pairs with

c4-architecture

Generates the matching written C4 narrative (system actors, container responsibilities) so the diagram and prose stay in sync.

architecture-decision-records

Pairs the diagram with the ADR that justifies the boundary the C4 box draws.

OAuth 2.0 authorization-code sequence

Author a UML sequence diagram with proper lifelines for the OAuth 2.0 authorization-code-with-PKCE flow — Browser, Client, Auth Server, Resource Server — including the redirect, code exchange, token issue, and a refresh round-trip.

ForBackend engineers documenting the auth handshake for a security review.

The prompt

Use the drawio-diagrams-enhanced skill, UML sequence-diagram preset. Read @specs/auth/oauth-pkce.md for the message names. Output `docs/diagrams/oauth-pkce-sequence.drawio` on one A4-portrait page. Place four lifelines top-to-bottom-aligned (Browser at x=120, Client at x=320, Auth Server at x=560, Resource Server at x=800). Each lifeline head is a rectangle 120x40 at y=40; the lifeline itself is a vertical dashed line down to y=720 with `shape=umlLifeline;perimeter=lifelinePerimeter`. Render activation bars as 12-wide rectangles overlapping the lifeline, and messages as `endArrow=open` (sync) or `endArrow=open;dashed=1` (response). Label each arrow with the HTTP verb and one query/body field. Number messages 1..9 with the activation order: 1 GET /authorize?code_challenge, 2 302 redirect to login, 3 user authenticates, 4 302 with code, 5 POST /token with code_verifier, 6 access_token + refresh_token, 7 GET /api with bearer, 8 200 resource, 9 POST /token with refresh_token.

What slides.md looks like

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net">
  <diagram id="oauthseq" name="OAuth PKCE">
    <mxGraphModel gridSize="10" pageWidth="827" pageHeight="1169">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0"/><mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>
        <mxCell id="b" value="Browser" style="shape=umlLifeline;perimeter=lifelinePerimeter;fillColor=#dae8fc" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="120" y="40" width="120" height="700" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="c" value="Client App" style="shape=umlLifeline;perimeter=lifelinePerimeter;fillColor=#d5e8d4" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="320" y="40" width="120" height="700" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="as" value="Auth Server" style="shape=umlLifeline;perimeter=lifelinePerimeter;fillColor=#fff2cc" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="560" y="40" width="120" height="700" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="m1" value="1: GET /authorize?code_challenge" style="endArrow=open" edge="1" parent="1" source="b" target="as"/>
        <mxCell id="m4" value="4: 302 ?code=…" style="endArrow=open;dashed=1" edge="1" parent="1" source="as" target="b"/>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

One-line tweak

Convert it to the device-authorization-grant flow by adding a fifth lifeline ("Device") and replacing messages 1-4 with the polling pattern (POST /device_authorization, user_code display, polling /token).

Pairs with

plantuml-diagram-generator

If you ever need the same sequence rendered as PlantUML for a markdown embed, this skill is the cleaner authoring path.

mermaid-expert

For the inline-README version of the sequence, Mermaid's `sequenceDiagram` block is shorter and renders on GitHub natively.

ER diagram with crow's-foot notation

Generate an ER diagram for a four-table schema (users, organizations, memberships, projects) using crow's-foot cardinality so it reads cleanly to a DBA reviewer.

ForBackend engineers writing the schema chapter of a design doc.

The prompt

Use the drawio-diagrams-enhanced skill with the entity-relation preset (`shape=mxgraph.er.*`). Read @db/schema.sql to extract column names. Output `docs/diagrams/erd-core.drawio` 1200x800. Render four entity boxes at fixed positions: users (x=80,y=80), organizations (x=480,y=80), memberships (x=280,y=360), projects (x=720,y=360). Each entity is `shape=table;startSize=30` with rows for every column — type, PK/FK marker, NOT NULL — using sub-cells `shape=partialRectangle`. Foreign-key relationships use crow's-foot endpoints: `startArrow=ERmany;endArrow=ERone` for many-to-one, `startArrow=ERmany;endArrow=ERmany` for the membership join. Label each edge with the FK column and the cardinality phrase ("belongs to", "has many"). Snap every entity to the 10-grid.

What slides.md looks like

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net">
  <diagram id="erd" name="Core ERD">
    <mxGraphModel gridSize="10" pageWidth="1200" pageHeight="800">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0"/><mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>
        <mxCell id="users" value="users" style="shape=table;startSize=30;fillColor=#dae8fc" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="80" y="80" width="200" height="160" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="u_id" value="id  uuid  PK" style="shape=partialRectangle;top=0;left=0;right=0" vertex="1" parent="users">
          <mxGeometry y="30" width="200" height="26" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="orgs" value="organizations" style="shape=table;startSize=30;fillColor=#d5e8d4" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="480" y="80" width="200" height="160" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="rel1" value="user_id" style="startArrow=ERmany;endArrow=ERone" edge="1" parent="1" source="users" target="orgs"/>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

One-line tweak

Add an `audit_log` table with a polymorphic `subject_type/subject_id` reference, then connect it to all four core tables with `startArrow=ERmany;endArrow=ERmandOne` to model the polymorphic FK explicitly.

Pairs with

mermaid-er-diagram-creator

When the same ERD has to live inline in a markdown ADR, Mermaid `erDiagram` is the right twin.

postgres

Lets Claude introspect the actual `pg_catalog` columns and FK constraints before drawing them, so the ERD matches the live database.

Multi-AZ network topology

Draw a multi-AZ network topology — three AZs, a transit gateway, two VPCs (prod, shared-services), VPN to on-prem, and a NAT gateway per AZ — using the AWS24 networking shapes.

ForNetwork engineers preparing the change-control diagram for a CAB review.

The prompt

Use the drawio-diagrams-enhanced skill. Read @infra/terraform/network.tf for the CIDR blocks. Output `docs/diagrams/network-multi-az.drawio` on a 1654x1169 page. Three AZ swim columns at x=80, x=620, x=1160 (each 380 wide, 1000 tall, fillColor=#dae8fc with 30% opacity). Two VPC bands across the top: prod-vpc 10.0.0.0/16 (y=80,height=440) and shared-svcs-vpc 10.10.0.0/16 (y=560,height=440). In each AZ-VPC cell place a public-subnet shape (`shape=mxgraph.aws4.public_subnet`), a private-subnet shape, and a NAT gateway (`shape=mxgraph.aws4.nat_gateway`). Place a transit gateway (`shape=mxgraph.aws4.transit_gateway`) at x=820,y=520, and a VPN connection (`shape=mxgraph.aws4.vpn_connection`) at x=1480,y=80. Connect every NAT to its IGW and every VPC to the TGW with orthogonal edges. Label each subnet with its CIDR.

What slides.md looks like

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net">
  <diagram id="netmaz" name="Multi-AZ network">
    <mxGraphModel gridSize="10" pageWidth="1654" pageHeight="1169">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0"/><mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>
        <mxCell id="az_a" value="AZ eu-west-1a" style="rounded=0;fillColor=#dae8fc;opacity=30" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="80" y="80" width="380" height="1000" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="nat_a" value="NAT GW a" style="shape=mxgraph.aws4.nat_gateway;fillColor=#8C4FFF" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="160" y="200" width="80" height="80" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="tgw" value="Transit GW" style="shape=mxgraph.aws4.transit_gateway" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="820" y="520" width="120" height="60" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e1" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle" edge="1" parent="1" source="nat_a" target="tgw"/>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

One-line tweak

Swap to Cisco glyphs by replacing `shape=mxgraph.aws4.transit_gateway` with `shape=mxgraph.cisco.routers.router` and the NAT shapes with `shape=mxgraph.cisco.security.firewall` — the same topology, the on-prem look.

Pairs with

network-diagram-generator

If you need a non-AWS / vendor-neutral version of the same topology (boxes-and-lines style), this skill is tuned for it.

aws-managed

Lets Claude pull live VPC IDs, route tables, and TGW attachments before drawing — diagram stays in sync with reality.

PMP swim-lane process map

Build a five-lane PMP cross-functional flowchart for a procurement process (Initiating → Planning → Executing → Monitoring & Controlling → Closing) using the canonical PMBOK fill colours so it passes a PMP audit visually.

ForPMs and PMO leads building the audit binder for a programme review.

The prompt

Use the drawio-diagrams-enhanced skill. Read @docs/pmo/procurement-process.md for the activity list. Output `docs/diagrams/pmp-procurement-swimlane.drawio` on a 1654x1169 A3 page. Render a single horizontal pool with five lanes top-to-bottom — Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring &amp; Controlling, Closing — using the cross-functional pool shape (`shape=swimlane;startSize=20;horizontal=0`). Lane fills MUST follow PMBOK: Initiating #d5e8d4, Planning #dae8fc, Executing #ffe6cc, M&amp;C #fff2cc, Closing #e1d5e7. Place 12 process activities as rounded rectangles (rounded=1, size 120x60) inside their owning lane, each linked left-to-right by orthogonal edges with arrowheads. Add two diamond decisions (`rhombus`) for vendor-shortlist and contract-award gates. Snap every activity to the 10-pixel grid.

What slides.md looks like

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net">
  <diagram id="pmpsl" name="PMP Procurement">
    <mxGraphModel gridSize="10" pageWidth="1654" pageHeight="1169">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0"/><mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>
        <mxCell id="pool" value="Procurement Process" style="shape=swimlane;startSize=20;horizontal=0" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="40" y="40" width="1560" height="1080" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="l_init" value="Initiating" style="shape=swimlane;startSize=20;fillColor=#d5e8d4" vertex="1" parent="pool">
          <mxGeometry x="0" y="20" width="1560" height="200" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="a_charter" value="Develop Procurement Charter" style="rounded=1;fillColor=#ffffff" vertex="1" parent="l_init">
          <mxGeometry x="60" y="80" width="120" height="60" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="l_plan" value="Planning" style="shape=swimlane;startSize=20;fillColor=#dae8fc" vertex="1" parent="pool">
          <mxGeometry x="0" y="220" width="1560" height="200" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

One-line tweak

Convert the same activities into a RACI matrix on a second page — replace the lane colours with R/A/C/I cell fills (#d5e8d4, #dae8fc, #fff2cc, #e1d5e7) and put role columns instead of process-group rows.

Pairs with

atlassian-jira-confluence

Embeds the rendered .drawio straight into a Confluence Programme page so the PMO doesn't have to re-upload after every edit.

pptx

Drops the same diagram into a steering-committee deck without redrawing it.

Radial mind map

Author a radial mind map of a programme's risk categories — eight branches around a central node, each with two sub-leaves — using mxCell rotation so the labels stay readable around the circle.

ForPMs prepping the workshop slide for a risk-identification session.

The prompt

Use the drawio-diagrams-enhanced skill. Output `docs/diagrams/risk-mindmap.drawio` 1200x1200 (square). Place a central ellipse "Programme Risk" at x=540,y=540,width=120,height=120 with fillColor=#fad7ac. Place 8 branch nodes evenly around a circle of radius 360 centred on the page centre — at angles 0,45,90,135,180,225,270,315 — each rendered as a 160x60 rounded rectangle with PMBOK colours rotating: Schedule (#dae8fc), Cost (#d5e8d4), Quality (#ffe6cc), Resource (#fff2cc), Comms (#e1d5e7), Risk (#f8cecc), Procurement (#dae8fc), Stakeholder (#d5e8d4). Each branch node uses `rotation=<angle>` so its long axis points outward from the centre. Add two sub-leaves per branch as 100x40 rectangles further along the same radial. Use straight (non-orthogonal) edges from centre to branch (`edgeStyle=none`). Document the rotation logic in a top-left legend cell.

What slides.md looks like

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net">
  <diagram id="mindmap" name="Risk mind map">
    <mxGraphModel gridSize="10" pageWidth="1200" pageHeight="1200">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0"/><mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>
        <mxCell id="core" value="Programme Risk" style="ellipse;fillColor=#fad7ac;strokeColor=#b46504" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="540" y="540" width="120" height="120" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="b_sched" value="Schedule" style="rounded=1;fillColor=#dae8fc;rotation=0" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="900" y="570" width="160" height="60" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="b_cost" value="Cost" style="rounded=1;fillColor=#d5e8d4;rotation=45" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="820" y="220" width="160" height="60" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e_sched" style="edgeStyle=none" edge="1" parent="1" source="core" target="b_sched"/>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

One-line tweak

Re-anchor the radial as a tree by setting rotation=0 on every branch and switching `edgeStyle=none` to `edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle` — same content, hierarchical look.

Pairs with

excalidraw-architect

If the mind-map is for a workshop where you want a sketchy, non-corporate feel, Excalidraw is the better surface.

slidev

Drops the rendered mind map into a Slidev deck for the kickoff session.

Kubernetes topology

Draw a single-cluster Kubernetes topology — control plane on one side, three worker nodes, a Deployment fronting two ReplicaSets, an Ingress with a TLS Secret, and a PersistentVolumeClaim — using the official Kubernetes shape library.

ForPlatform engineers documenting the cluster for a new starter or an SRE handover.

The prompt

Use the drawio-diagrams-enhanced skill. Read @infra/k8s/manifests/*.yaml for resource names. Output `docs/diagrams/k8s-cluster.drawio` 1654x1169. Use `shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.<resource>` throughout — control_plane (kube-apiserver, etcd, scheduler, controller-manager) on the left at x=80,y=80 in a vertical stack; three worker nodes as 240x320 boxes at x=600,x=920,x=1240,y=80. Inside each worker put two pods (`shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.pod`) and a kubelet glyph. Place a Deployment shape spanning the three workers at y=460, two ReplicaSets at y=560, and an Ingress (`shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.ing`) at x=80,y=460 with a Secret glyph attached. Add a PVC + StorageClass cluster at x=600,y=900. All control-plane resources fill #ECECFF, workloads fill #FFF2CC, networking fill #DAE8FC. Connect with orthogonal edges labelled with the API verb (apply, scale, schedule).

What slides.md looks like

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net">
  <diagram id="k8s" name="Cluster topology">
    <mxGraphModel gridSize="10" pageWidth="1654" pageHeight="1169">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0"/><mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>
        <mxCell id="api" value="kube-apiserver" style="shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.api;fillColor=#ECECFF" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="80" y="80" width="160" height="80" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="w1" value="worker-1" style="rounded=0;fillColor=#FFFFFF;strokeColor=#666666" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="600" y="80" width="240" height="320" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="pod1" value="pod" style="shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.pod;fillColor=#FFF2CC" vertex="1" parent="w1">
          <mxGeometry x="20" y="40" width="80" height="40" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="ing" value="Ingress" style="shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.ing;fillColor=#DAE8FC" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="80" y="460" width="160" height="80" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e1" value="schedule" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle" edge="1" parent="1" source="api" target="w1"/>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

One-line tweak

Promote it to a multi-cluster (fleet) view by wrapping everything in a `mxgraph.kubernetes.cluster` group and adding a second cluster cell to the right with a peering edge between the two API servers.

Pairs with

kubernetes-architect

Pairs the diagram with the prose architecture chapter and the YAML conventions.

kubernetes

Lets Claude introspect the live cluster (kubectl get all -A) before drawing — diagram matches the actual deployment.

Org chart

Author a five-level org chart for a product organization (CEO → CTO/CPO/COO → directors → managers → ICs) using a tree layout and PMI hierarchy colours so it reads cleanly at A3 print.

ForHR partners and engineering managers preparing the all-hands org slide.

The prompt

Use the drawio-diagrams-enhanced skill. Read @docs/people/org.csv for the role list. Output `docs/diagrams/org-chart.drawio` on an A3 landscape page (1654x1169). Render five levels top-to-bottom with the canonical tree-layout style (`shape=rectangle;rounded=1;tree=1`). Level fills follow PMI hierarchy: L1 CEO #1f497d (white text), L2 C-suite #4f81bd, L3 directors #95b3d7, L4 managers #b8cce4, L5 ICs #dbe5f1. Each box is 200x80 with role title bold and the person's name on a second line. Use `shape=treeRoot` for the CEO, `shape=treeNode` for everyone else. Connectors must be `edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;rounded=0` with no arrowheads. Snap every node to the 10-grid; spacing 40 horizontal between siblings, 60 vertical between levels.

What slides.md looks like

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net">
  <diagram id="org" name="Org chart">
    <mxGraphModel gridSize="10" pageWidth="1654" pageHeight="1169">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0"/><mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>
        <mxCell id="ceo" value="CEO&#10;Avery Park" style="rounded=1;fillColor=#1f497d;fontColor=#ffffff;fontStyle=1" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="720" y="40" width="200" height="80" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="cto" value="CTO&#10;Lin Chen" style="rounded=1;fillColor=#4f81bd;fontColor=#ffffff" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="380" y="180" width="200" height="80" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="cpo" value="CPO&#10;Mara Olu" style="rounded=1;fillColor=#4f81bd;fontColor=#ffffff" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="720" y="180" width="200" height="80" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e1" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;endArrow=none" edge="1" parent="1" source="ceo" target="cto"/>
        <mxCell id="e2" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;endArrow=none" edge="1" parent="1" source="ceo" target="cpo"/>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

One-line tweak

Switch to a matrix-org view by adding dotted lines (`dashed=1`) from each IC to a horizontal "Programme Lead" lane on a second page, so the same people show solid line management and dotted programme line at once.

Pairs with

pptx

Drops the org chart into the leadership all-hands deck.

notion

Embeds the rendered diagram inside the People wiki so it updates in one place.

Decision-tree runbook

Build an on-call decision-tree runbook for an HTTP 5xx alert — root "5xx > 1% for 5 min" branching through three diagnostic checks and ending in five concrete remediations — as a single-page printable A4 sheet.

ForSREs and on-call engineers who need a pageable decision aid at 3am.

The prompt

Use the drawio-diagrams-enhanced skill. Read @docs/runbooks/5xx-alert.md for the decision logic. Output `docs/diagrams/runbook-5xx.drawio` on A4 portrait (827x1169). The root is a rhombus (`shape=rhombus;fillColor=#f8cecc`) at x=320,y=40 size 200x80 labelled "5xx rate > 1% for 5 min?". Three diagnostic decisions branch left-to-right at level 2 (y=200): "Recent deploy?", "Upstream dependency healthy?", "DB connection-pool saturated?" — each rhombus 200x80, fillColor=#fff2cc. Yes/No edges drop to level-3 leaves (y=400) which are rounded rectangles 200x80 with fillColor=#d5e8d4 (action) or #f8cecc (escalate): rollback last deploy, page upstream owner, increase pool size, page DBA, escalate to incident commander. Every edge is labelled "Yes" or "No" and uses `edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle`. Add a top-bar legend cell stating the SLO and the page target.

What slides.md looks like

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net">
  <diagram id="rb5xx" name="5xx runbook">
    <mxGraphModel gridSize="10" pageWidth="827" pageHeight="1169">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0"/><mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>
        <mxCell id="root" value="5xx rate &gt; 1% for 5 min?" style="rhombus;fillColor=#f8cecc" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="320" y="40" width="200" height="80" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="d_deploy" value="Recent deploy?" style="rhombus;fillColor=#fff2cc" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="80" y="200" width="200" height="80" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="a_rb" value="Roll back last deploy" style="rounded=1;fillColor=#d5e8d4" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="80" y="400" width="200" height="80" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e1" value="Yes" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle" edge="1" parent="1" source="root" target="d_deploy"/>
        <mxCell id="e2" value="Yes" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle" edge="1" parent="1" source="d_deploy" target="a_rb"/>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

One-line tweak

Add a fourth diagnostic branch "Cert expiry < 7 days?" and a corresponding remediation leaf — same A4 page; just shift the level-2 rhombuses from x=80/x=320/x=560 to x=40/x=240/x=440/x=640 to fit four columns.

Pairs with

linear

Lets Claude attach the decision-tree to the actual incident issue so the runbook lives where the responder is already paging.

github

Commits the `.drawio` next to the runbook markdown so it diffs in the same PR.

Community signal

Three voices from people using draw.io for real work. The first is the diagram-as-code endorsement; the second is the daily-use story inside an enterprise repo; the third is the canonical adoption note from the r/devops community.

“The diagram can be part of documentation of the code in the the same working directory, possibly version controlled.”

fadzlan · Hacker News

Diagram-as-code endorsement on the original Show HN for the VS Code Draw.io Integration — the canonical argument for keeping `.drawio` files alongside the source they document.

“I've always used Draw.io to draw workflows and graphical to-do lists when bootstrapping these type of repositories”

lukasdanin · Hacker News

Daily-use story from the second Show HN thread (collaboratively-edit version) — drawio as the everyday tool inside an enterprise repo workflow.

“draw.io diagrams can be embedded into documentation (e.g., confluence) and are editable in future.”

thisisabug · Hacker News

From the Ask HN thread on sequence diagrams in draw.io — the canonical adoption note: drawio sticks in DevOps and platform teams because Confluence renders the embed and the diagram stays editable years later.

The contrarian take

Not everyone reaches for draw.io. The most honest critique on the Hacker News diagram threads is from mdaniel:

“draw.io is the wrong level of abstraction for sequence diagrams, in my opinion.”

mdaniel · Hacker News

From the Ask HN: Do you have a setup for drawing sequence diagrams with draw.io? thread.