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| Criterion | ![]() Architecture arc42 | ![]() Architecture Architecture Decision Record | ![]() Innovation Lotus Blossom | ![]() Innovation Brainstorming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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 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 central question feels too large, the method breaks it into neighboring topic fields with their own depth of ideation. It holds structure and openness at the same time, so adjacent perspectives don't get lost. This grows an idea space out of a core problem. | When a team faces an open question with many obvious directions, the method first creates breadth instead of premature commitment. It separates idea flow from evaluation and makes lines of thought visible, creating a pool for selection and further development. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-2 Tage | 15-45 min | 45-90 min | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-4 | 1-3 | 3-10 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Lotus Diagram, Idea Themes, Shortlist | Idea pool, Theme clusters, Shortlist |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityDivergenceWorkshop | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityWorkshopDivergence |



