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| Criterion |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Operations Process Mapping |  Agile Mad Sad Glad |  Agile Starfish Retrospective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | With a confusing workflow that has many handoffs, the method makes the actual process visible. It shows where work is passed on, delayed, or duplicated, so improvement targets the right spots. | When a team's or workshop's mood needs to become readable, it structures emotional signals with little setup. It makes strain, relief, and sources of energy tangible. | When improvement options need to be sorted more finely than just start and stop, it brings observations into clear kinds of action. This makes visible what should be done more, less, newly, or continued. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 15-45 min | 1-3 h | 30-60 min | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-3 | 3-10 | 3-10 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Process Map, Handoff List, Improvement Backlog | Emotion Board, Themes, Action Items | Starfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | ProcessOperationsImprovement | RetrospectiveTeamReflection | RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam |