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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 Request for Comments (RFC) with its method-specific working model.
Architecture
Request for Comments
Paper illustration for Change Analysis.
Operations
Change Analysis
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.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.For a deviation after a change, the method isolates the influence of the altered condition. It narrows down which differences are relevant and which are just accompanying noise.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumMedium
Timedifferent
15-45 min1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung45-120 min
Participantsdifferent
1-33-20 Reviewer2-6
Formatdifferent
AsyncAsyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
ADR File, Decision Log, RationaleRFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or ticketsChange Matrix, Cause Hypotheses, Validation Questions, Action List
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance
ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance
ChangeRoot causeTroubleshootingComparison
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Argument Mapping
Decision Making
Argument Mapping