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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
Paper illustration of the Consensus Workshop working structure.
Facilitation
Consensus Workshop
Paper illustration of the Lightning Decision Jam working structure.
Facilitation
Decision Jam
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 a group needs a solid decision without outvoting individual factions, a Consensus Workshop creates a negotiable common ground. It makes agreement, reservations, and open tensions discussable at the same time.When a decision is stuck, Decision Jam loosens the knot through structured separation of problem, idea, and selection. The format creates movement without jumping prematurely at the first seemingly elegant answer.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumLow
Timedifferent
15-45 min1-3 h60-90 min
Participantsdifferent
1-35-304-10
Formatdifferent
AsyncWorkshopWorkshop
Outputdifferent
ADR File, Decision Log, RationaleConsensus Clusters, Theme Titles, Priority AreasProblem Cluster, Prioritized Challenge, Experiment
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance
FacilitationConsensusWorkshopAlignment
FacilitationDecisionProblem solvingWorkshop
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration of Decision Rights Mapping with its method-specific working model.
Decision Making
Decision Rights Mapping
Paper illustration of Request for Comments (RFC) with its method-specific working model.
Architecture
Request for Comments
Software Architecture Canvas method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Software Architecture Canvas