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| Criterion |  Decision Making Argument Mapping |  Decision Making Decision Rights Mapping |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Architecture arc42 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When statements, evidence, and counterarguments get mixed up, a debate quickly loses its structure. Argument Mapping breaks a thesis down into its reasoning and makes visible what it really rests on. | In organizations with many stakeholders, it often blurs who actually decides and who is merely consulted. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Decision Rights matrix and an agreement. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 90-180 min | 15-45 min | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 1-8 | 4-12 | 1-3 | 1-4 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Argument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision Rationale | Decision Rights Matrix, Agreement | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View |
Tagsno overlap | SensemakingDecisionRationale | DecisionGovernanceAlignmentResponsibility | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication |