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Criterion
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record
Design sheets and interface cards connect to jointly written pseudocode with highlighted unresolved questions.
Architecture
ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
Paper illustration for Golden Path
Engineering
Golden Path
Paper illustration of Request for Comments (RFC) with its method-specific working model.
Architecture
Request for Comments
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.When teams need a reliable default path for frequent use, sprawl quickly emerges without any guiding logic. Golden Path bundles the preferred path so good practice becomes easy and deviation becomes deliberate.An RFC clarifies architecture context, options, and consequences. It structures technical context, alternatives, tradeoffs, open questions, and review feedback, and captures the result as an RFC document, reviewer comments, and a decision rationale.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumMediumMedium
Timedifferent
15-45 min2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional1-3 Tage Setup, laufend1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung
Participantsdifferent
1-3Designers, developers as users, and facilitation2-83-20 Reviewer
Formatdifferent
AsyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncAsync
Outputdifferent
ADR File, Decision Log, RationalePrioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisionsGolden Path Guide, Templates, Quality ChecksRFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance
ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks
EngineeringProductivityGovernance
ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance
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