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Selected:ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Architecture Decision Record Architecture Inception Canvas arc42

Criterion	Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)	Architecture Architecture Decision Record	Architecture Architecture Inception Canvas	Architecture arc42
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.	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.	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.	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	Low	Low	Low
Timedifferent	2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional	15-45 min	1-2 h	1-2 Tage
Participantsdifferent	Designers, developers as users, and facilitation	1-3	3-8	1-4
Formatdifferent	Workshop + async	Async	Workshop	Workshop + async
Outputdifferent	Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions	ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale	Inception Canvas, Risks, Goal List, Open Questions	Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View
Tags1 shared	ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks	ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance	AlignmentArchitectureCanvas	ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication

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