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Selected:ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Architecture Communication CanvasArchitecture Inception CanvasAlignment Mapping
| Criterion | ![]() Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) | ![]() Architecture Architecture Communication Canvas | ![]() Architecture Architecture Inception Canvas | ![]() Facilitation Alignment Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | The Architecture Communication Canvas plans architecture communication so the right people receive the right message. The method turns technical complexity into deliberate communication design. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 60-120 min | 1-2 h | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 2-8 | 3-8 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Communication Canvas, Stakeholder Messages, Architecture Communication Plan | Inception Canvas, Risks, Goal List, Open Questions | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | ArchitectureCommunicationStakeholdersCanvas | AlignmentArchitectureCanvas | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |



