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| Criterion |  Architecture arc42 |  Architecture C4 Model |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | The C4 Model makes a system legible across several resolution levels, from context down to code. It suits situations where different audiences need to understand the same architecture from different altitudes. | With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects. | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-2 Tage | 1-4 h | 45-120 min | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-4 | 1-5 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions |