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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
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem
Paper illustration for Communication Plan
Delivery
Communication Plan
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.In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures.When many people need to be informed in parallel and messages would otherwise arrive unevenly or too late, a Communication Plan orders communication reliably. Channels, audiences, and cadences interlock so important information doesn't get lost.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
LowLowLowMedium
Timedifferent
15-45 min20–45 min45-90 min1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung
Participantsdifferent
1-3Small cross-functional group2-63-20 Reviewer
Formatdifferent
AsyncWorkshopWorkshop + asyncAsync
Outputdifferent
ADR File, Decision Log, RationaleRisk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logCommunication Plan, Channel Matrix, Message CadenceRFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
CommunicationStakeholdersDeliveryPlanning
ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance
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