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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 a calibrated five-by-five risk matrix with response cards.
Decision Making
Risk Matrix
Views and Beyond method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Views and Beyond
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 a project faces many possible disruptions, it quickly becomes unclear which risks deserve attention first. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Risk Matrix and a Top Risk List.Views and Beyond organizes architecture into several views so no single diagram has to do everything at once. This makes it possible to choose the representation that fits the stakeholder's question.
Complexitydifferent
LowLowMedium
Timedifferent
15-45 min30-60 min1-3 Tage
Participantsdifferent
1-33-101-4
Formatdifferent
AsyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
ADR File, Decision Log, RationaleRisk Matrix, Top Risk ListArchitecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance
RiskDecisionPrioritizationAssessment
DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Four paper stations connect system purpose, quality goals, risk cards and focused investigation with a target and gap profile.
Architecture
LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)
Paper illustration of Request for Comments (RFC) with its method-specific working model.
Architecture
Request for Comments