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| Criterion |  Architecture arc42 |  UX Research User Interviews |  Architecture Views and Beyond |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 teams derive needs only from assumptions and real motives are missing, user interviews give direct access to behavior and meaning. Conversations from the target group's everyday life make patterns, tensions, and open questions solidly visible. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-2 Tage | 30–60 min per interview | 1-3 Tage | 15-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-4 | 1 participant per interview | 1-4 | 1-3 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Interview Notes, Themes, Insight Summary | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance |