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| Criterion | ![]() Architecture Architecture Decision Record | ![]() Facilitation Nominal Group Technique | ![]() Architecture Request for Comments | ![]() Facilitation Dot Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 a workshop has produced too many options and the group needs to condense quickly, dot voting makes preferences visible in a short time. It bundles individual votes into a solid signal for the next selection. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 15-45 min | 60-120 min | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 5-15 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-3 | 5-12 | 3-20 Reviewer | 3-20 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Ranked Ideas, Clarified Options, Group Priority | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Ranked list, Consensus signal, Shortlist |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | FacilitationPrioritizationVotingInclusion | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | FacilitationVotingConsensusPrioritization |



