Amdahl's law illustrates the tradeoff between speed and scalability when designing a system. It states that the overall speed of a system is limited by its slowest component — no matter how much faster the other components may be. To use an analogy, think of a relay race where each runner must run at their own pace; no matter how fast the other team members run, if one runner goes slow then the team will still lose. The same holds true for systems; if one component is not running optimally then it will limit the overall performance of the entire system. Amdahl's law can be used to calculate the maximum theoretical improvement in speed that can be achieved by upgrading certain parts of a system. For example, if you are developing a software application and want to improve its performance, Amdahl's law can help you decide which components should be upgraded first in order to achieve the best result. By understanding this principle, software architects can make informed decisions about their designs that will have long-term effects on their project's success.