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| Criterion |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Agile Affinity Estimation |  Decision Making Decision Rights Mapping |  Agile Bucket System |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable. | When many tasks need to be classified quickly, it sorts them by perceived effort and similarity. It reduces the effort of fine-grained estimation for large volumes. | In organizations with many stakeholders, it often blurs who actually decides and who is merely consulted. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Decision Rights matrix and an agreement. | When a large batch of work needs a fast, rough estimate, it sorts items into predefined size buckets. It sorts work by value, risk, and delivery ability. The result is captured as a Bucketed Backlog, Relative Estimates, and Split Candidates. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 15-45 min | 30-90 min | 90-180 min | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-3 | 3-12 | 4-12 | 3-12 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Affinity Size Map, Grouped Estimates, Unclear Items | Decision Rights Matrix, Agreement | Bucketed Backlog, Relative Estimates, Split Candidates |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | EstimationBacklogRelative sizing | DecisionGovernanceAlignmentResponsibility | EstimationBacklogRelative sizing |