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Selected:Architecture Decision RecordARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Barrier AnalysisCausal Factor Analysis
| Criterion |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Operations Barrier Analysis |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. | For a risk that can only be managed through multiple layers of protection, the method examines the effectiveness of each barrier. It shows where safeguards are missing, too weak, or fail under real conditions. | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 15-45 min | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 2-4 h | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-3 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 2-6 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | Root causeSafetyIncident | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline |