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| Criterion |  Architecture arc42 |  Decision Making Option Framing |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  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. | In early decisions, alternatives are often still vague, incomplete, or blended together. Option Framing brings every possibility into a comparable form and makes visible which variant actually fits the question. | 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. | 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 | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-2 Tage | 45-120 min | 30-90 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-4 | 3-8 | 2-8 | 1-5 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Option Frames, Assumption Notes, Comparable Shortlist, Decision Inputs | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | OptionsDecision framingStrategyComparison | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization |