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| Criterion |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Architecture C4 Model |  Decision Making Cynefin Workshop |  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. | 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. | When problems are unclear, chaotic, or only seemingly familiar, standard recipes fall short. A Cynefin Workshop sorts situations by the nature of their problem and connects them with matching action logic. | 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 | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 1-4 h | 60-180 min | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 1-5 | 4-20 | 1-4 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram | Cynefin Map, Domain-specific Actions, Sensemaking Notes | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization | ComplexitySensemakingDecision | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication |