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Selected:Architecture Inception CanvasARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Alignment MappingSoftware Architecture Canvas
| Criterion |  Architecture Architecture Inception Canvas |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |  Architecture Software Architecture Canvas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | The Architecture Inception Canvas bundles the first architecture questions into a compact decision picture. It fits when an initiative is still in motion but still needs clear guardrails. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. | 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. | The Software Architecture Canvas reduces a system to the most important architecture decisions, constraints, and interfaces. It is useful when teams need a resilient overall picture quickly. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 1-2 h | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 4-12 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Inception Canvas, Risks, Goal List, Open Questions | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions | Architecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality Attributes |
Tagsno overlap | AlignmentArchitectureCanvas | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation | CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop |