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| Criterion |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Delivery Value Stream Mapping |  Agile WSJF |  Engineering Kanban |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 delivery work dissolves into wait times, handoffs, and hidden effort, Value Stream Mapping makes the actual flow visible. The method exposes bottlenecks, idle time, and feedback loops so lead time and improvement levers become tangible. | When many tasks compete for the same capacity, it orders work by economic impact. It makes time lost, benefit, and effort comparable together. | When work sits in too many parallel streams, throughput suffers and no one sees the bottlenecks. Kanban makes the flow of work visible and limits overload so a system becomes calmer and more predictable. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 15-45 min | 1-3 h | 45-90 min | Ongoing |
Participantsdifferent | 1-3 | 4-10 | 3-10 | 2-12 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Ranked Backlog, Cost-of-Delay Assumptions | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | LeanEconomicsSequencePrioritization | FlowVisual managementDelivery |