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| Criterion | ![]() Architecture Architecture Decision Record | ![]() Facilitation Nominal Group Technique | ![]() Architecture Request for Comments | ![]() Decision Making Argument Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 loud voices could dominate a round, Nominal Group Technique protects individual thinking time from group effects. It collects ideas separately first and only then enables shared weighting. | 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. | When statements, evidence, and counterarguments get mixed up, a debate quickly loses its structure. Argument Mapping breaks a thesis down into its reasoning and makes visible what it really rests on. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 15-45 min | 60-120 min | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-3 | 5-12 | 3-20 Reviewer | 1-8 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Ranked Ideas, Clarified Options, Group Priority | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Argument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | FacilitationPrioritizationVotingInclusion | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | SensemakingDecisionRationale |



