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| Criterion |  Architecture arc42 |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |  Product Discovery Smoke Test |  Product Discovery Fake Door Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. | When demand only needs to be roughly verified, it tests interest with minimal effort. It measures whether people would take a next step at all. | When demand is still unclear, it measures interest in a feature before it is built. It separates real behavior from polite agreement and deliberately keeps build effort small. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-2 Tage | 1-2 h | 1-5 Tage | 1-5 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 1-4 | 4-12 | Nutzertraffic | Nutzertraffic |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions | Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning Note | Click Data, Interest Signal, Learning Decision |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth | ValidationExperimentsDemandDiscovery |