System and method for visually indicating deployment of programs in a system. A client system includes a plurality of devices coupled together, where at least one of the devices includes one or more programs, e.g., graphical, text-based, and/or hardware configuration programs. A configuration diagram is displayed which visually represents the client system. The diagram includes device icons representing the devices, including a first device icon corresponding to a first device. A first program is deployed onto the first device. The configuration diagram is programmatically animated to visually indicate the deployment, e.g., a first program icon corresponding to the first program, or one or more other icons, may be propagated from a first location on the display, e.g., from a second device icon representing a second device initially storing the program, to the first device icon, possibly along link icons indicating coupling between the devices. The deployment may be performed programmatically.