ProBase

Creating a Company Handbook - Scalable, Text-Based, and Future-Proof

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Creating a Company Handbook: Scalable, Text-Based, and Future-Proof

A company handbook is more than a collection of documents – it is the central nervous system of an organization. It creates transparency, makes knowledge accessible, and enables teams to collaborate efficiently. But how do you design a handbook that grows with the company, remains technically flexible, and works without proprietary tools?

This article shows how to build a handbook that is scalable, text-based, and version-controlled – from individual knowledge collections to enterprise-wide documentation systems. We rely on open-source formats like Markdown with Mermaid or AsciiDoc with PlantUML, as well as tools that support these approaches.

The Bridge Between Business and IT

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Information System Architecture – The Bridge Between Business and IT

Information System Architecture (ISA) forms the central link between business requirements and technological implementation. It translates functional requirements from business architecture into concrete information systems while ensuring these can be operated efficiently on the IT infrastructure.

Within the context of Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM), it plays a key role: It connects business processes, data, and applications into a consistent overall picture of the IT landscape.

ProBase is now in Beta

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

ProBase reaches beta status

Although I haven’t yet achieved all content goals for this step—as I also wanted to make some downloads available—the most important documentation articles have been created, and I’ve managed to maintain the blog’s two-week rhythm.

Additionally, no errors should occur while using the site, even though not all features have been enabled yet.

Next steps

Over the next four months (leading up to the official launch on July 16, 2026), we’ll be stepping on the gas! :-)

What you can do with plaintext formats

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction to the Plain Text World

Digital content is created today in a wide variety of forms: websites, documentation, presentations, or technical diagrams. Traditionally, such content is often created with graphical tools—such as Word, PowerPoint, or drawing programs. These tools are intuitive but have a crucial disadvantage: the content is usually stored in proprietary file formats and is difficult to automate, version, or process further.

An alternative to this is plain text formats. Here, content is not described visually but via a simple, text-based syntax. These files can be edited with any text editor, easily versioned, and automatically processed further.

Role Concepts in EAM

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Role Concepts in EAM

Why Roles in EAM?

Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM) operates within the tension between strategy, organization, IT systems, and operational processes. Without clearly defined roles, there is a risk that architecture work remains purely documentary or is carried out in an uncoordinated manner by various parties.

Roles in EAM therefore fulfill several central functions:

1. Clarifying Responsibilities
Architecture decisions affect many areas of a company. Roles ensure clarity on who prepares, makes, or is accountable for decisions.

Once-Only in Documentation

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

What is the Once-Only Principle?

The Once-Only principle states: Data or information should be captured, stored, and maintained only once – and reused at all relevant points. It avoids redundancy, minimizes sources of error, and reduces maintenance effort. Originally known from public administration and e-government, it is gaining increasing importance in technical documentation – especially in complex, agile, and scalable systems.

Why is Once-Only Important in Documentation?

In software projects, documentation often grows in an uncoordinated manner:

Several ways to model dataflows

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Data Flow or Information Flow?

Data flow describes the transmission of raw, unprocessed data, regardless of its business meaning.

In contrast, information flow concerns the transmission of processed or interpreted data that provides the recipient with clear and recognizable value.

Naturally, in an IT environment, when information needs to be transferred, this occurs based on data transfer. Data flow forms the technical foundation for information flow.

The representation forms described in this article use elements of both variants, but the purpose of the information flow is the primary focus.

Portfolios in EAM, made visible with the IPO-model

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

From IPO to EAM – How Architecture Portfolios Can Be Derived from Simple Questions

The IPO model (Input – Processing – Output) describes a fundamental pattern of information processing.
It is deliberately kept simple and precisely therefore universally applicable – far beyond technical systems.

When this mental model is transferred to Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM), a surprisingly clear logic emerges:
Basic guiding questions can be derived from IPO, which in turn lead directly to the well-known architecture portfolios.

Use the IPO-model with EAM

Sat, 03 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

What is the IPO Model?

The IPO Model refers to the fundamental concept of data processing, where the three letters stand for Input, Processing, and Output.

These three terms describe the basic logic of information processing.

flowchart LR
id1("Input") --> id2("Processing") --> id3("Output")
style id1 fill:#ffff00,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
style id2 fill:#00ffff,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
style id3 fill:#ffff00,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px

In the classical sense, this refers to physical components, i.e., hardware:

Input	Processing	Output
Keyboard Mouse Touchpad Joystick Scanner Barcode/QR Code Reader	Main Processor CPU Chipset Controller	Monitor Display Speakers Projector Printer Plotter

However, the principle is much more universally applicable than just for physical IT components.

Why am I doing ProBase?

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Why ProBase at all?

What does the name “ProBase” stand for?

The name ProBase has nostalgic reasons: in the early 2000s, I was self-employed, and my company website ran under “probase.at” (I was living in Austria at the time).
The name emerged from a brainstorming session. Back then, I primarily wanted to offer services related to software development and databases. From the terms Programming and Database, “ProBase” was eventually created. I also liked the name because it could be interpreted as “professional Base”.
On a whim, and now living in Switzerland, I registered “probase.ch” in reference to this past, without having a specific purpose for it.
“Programming” and “Database” no longer fit today, but I still like the name and wanted to use it meaningfully.

ProBase is Open, at least as an Alpha Version!

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What Exactly is ProBase?

ProBase aims to provide a blog and practical resources on the topics of Enterprise Architecture Management and Documentation Engineering.

Website Structure

Blog

In this section, I share self-written articles (partially with the help of AI) on these topics. Examples include use cases, specific tutorials, opinions on current developments, etc. As a rule, a new article should be published every second Saturday.

About ProBase

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Legal Notice / Responsible for Website Content

Yann Vandercoilden
Mariabergstrasse 5
9400 Rorschach
Switzerland

Contact

LinkedIn: Profile
E-Mail: mail@probase.ch
Web: https://probase.ch

Disclaimer

Content
The contents of our website have been created with the greatest possible care. However, we cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information provided. Any liability claims against us relating to material or non-material damage caused by the use or non-use of the information presented, or by the use of incorrect or incomplete information, are generally excluded.
External Links
Our website contains links to external third-party websites over whose content we have no control. Therefore, we cannot assume any liability for such external content. The respective provider or operator of the linked pages is always responsible for their content.
Copyright
The content and works created by the website operators on this website are subject to Swiss copyright law. Contributions by third parties are marked as such. Reproduction, editing, distribution, or any kind of use beyond the limits of copyright law require the written consent of the respective author or creator.
Changes and Errors
We expressly reserve the right to modify, supplement, delete, or temporarily or permanently cease publication of parts of the pages or the entire offering without prior notice. Should individual formulations or parts of this disclaimer be invalid, the remaining provisions remain unaffected.

Asciidoc

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Syntax

Since AsciiDoc is offered as a “complete system,” including both language and interpreter, there is a central syntax. Unlike Markdown, AsciiDoc has no variants or dialects.

Comments

AsciiDoc code can be commented, just like any other source code. This means that comments are not taken into account during the interpretation of the source text (e.g., when converting to PDF). This allows documents or parts of text to be commented on, or notes to be left.

Markdown

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Markdown is certainly the most widespread simple markup language.

Syntax

Basic Syntax

These are the basic commands that Markdown offers and should fundamentally work in every tool.

Headings

To display headings, one or more hashtags are placed before the heading title, depending on the level.

# Heading 1

## Heading 2

### Heading 3

#### Heading 4

##### Heading 5

###### Heading 6

Note: It is best to always insert a blank line before a heading, as interpretations may otherwise be incorrect.

Mermaid

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Mermaid is a JavaScript-based diagramming and visualization library that enables the creation of diagrams and flowcharts using text descriptions. Mermaid is frequently used in Markdown documents (e.g., in GitHub, GitLab, or Confluence) to visually represent complex relationships.

Advantages of Mermaid:

Simple integration into Markdown documents.
No external tools required – diagrams are rendered directly in the browser.
Supports a wide variety of diagram types.
Ideal for documentation, presentations, and technical specifications.

Possible Diagrams

Flowchart

Flowcharts visualize processes or workflows. They consist of nodes (steps) and connections (arrows) representing the sequence of steps.

PlantUML

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

PlantUML is an open-source tool that enables the generation of diagrams from simple text descriptions. It supports a wide variety of diagram types, both UML-based and non-UML-based. PlantUML is particularly useful for developers, architects, and project managers, as it simplifies the creation and maintenance of diagrams and can be integrated into many development environments.

Possible UML-based Diagrams

Sequence Diagram

Description: A sequence diagram shows the interaction between objects in a specific order. It is frequently used to visualize the flow of messages between objects in a system.

Search Results

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000