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| Criterion |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  Decision Making Decision Rights Mapping |  Architecture arc42 |  Architecture Request for Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When research notes, feedback, or observations sit unconnected side by side, affinity diagramming sorts the raw material into solid themes. Many individual points turn into patterns that make decisions and opportunities clearer. | In organizations with many stakeholders, it often blurs who actually decides and who is merely consulted. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Decision Rights matrix and an agreement. | arc42 structures architecture knowledge so teams can document system, decisions, and risks consistently. The template builds a living understanding of the architecture instead of scattered notes. | 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 | Low | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45–90 min | 90-180 min | 1-2 Tage | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 4-12 | 1-4 | 3-20 Reviewer |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Decision Rights Matrix, Agreement | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets |
Tagsno overlap | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | DecisionGovernanceAlignmentResponsibility | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance |