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| Criterion |  Architecture arc42 |  Innovation Design Thinking |  Architecture Views and Beyond |  Architecture C4 Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | For complex user problems with an uncertain cause, the method connects observation, interpretation, and experiment into a learning cycle. It keeps the focus on real needs and avoids premature solution language. This produces robust decisions for product and service. | Views and Beyond organizes architecture into several views so no single diagram has to do everything at once. This makes it possible to choose the representation that fits the stakeholder's question. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-2 Tage | 1 Tag bis mehrere Wochen | 1-3 Tage | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-4 | 4-10 | 1-4 | 1-5 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Problem Statement, Prototype, Test Learnings | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | InnovationPrototypeResearch | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization |