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| Criterion |  Architecture Architecture Inception Canvas |  Product Discovery Outcome-Driven Innovation |  Architecture arc42 |  Architecture C4 Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | Outcome-Driven Innovation clarifies customer problems, solution opportunities, and evidence. It separates jobs, desired outcomes, importance, satisfaction, and opportunity, and captures results as desired outcome statements, an opportunity landscape, and segments by underserved needs. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | Mehrere Wochen | 1-2 Tage | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 2-6 researchers plus sample | 1-4 | 1-5 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Inception Canvas, Risks, Goal List, Open Questions | Desired outcome statements, Opportunity landscape, Segmentation by underserved needs, Innovation hypotheses | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram |
Tagsno overlap | AlignmentArchitectureCanvas | OutcomesInnovationResearchQuantitative | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization |