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| Criterion |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Agile Affinity Estimation |  Agile Ideal Days |  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. | When effort needs to be thought of as real working time, it offers a simple common denominator for comparison. It sorts work by value, risk, and delivery ability. The result is captured as Ideal Day Estimates, Assumption Notes, and Capacity Caveats. | 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 | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 15-45 min | 30-90 min | 15-60 min | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-3 | 3-12 | 2-9 | 3-12 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Affinity Size Map, Grouped Estimates, Unclear Items | Ideal Day Estimates, Assumption Notes, Capacity Caveats | Bucketed Backlog, Relative Estimates, Split Candidates |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | EstimationBacklogRelative sizing | EstimationEffortAgile | EstimationBacklogRelative sizing |