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Selected:ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)5 WhysCurrent Reality TreeCausal Loop Diagram
| Criterion |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Operations 5 Whys |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Systems Thinking Causal Loop Diagram |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. | A Causal Loop Diagram makes feedback, reinforcement, and balance in a system legible. It uncovers side effects and self-reinforcement that stay hidden in linear explanations. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 15-30 min | 2-6 h | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 2-6 | 3-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Causal Loop Diagram, Feedback Notes, Leverage Points |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | FeedbackSystems thinkingCausalityDynamics |