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Criterion
Design sheets and interface cards connect to jointly written pseudocode with highlighted unresolved questions.
Architecture
ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
Empathy Mapping
UX Research
Empathy Mapping
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
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.When a lot is assumed about a target group but little is seen jointly, empathy mapping makes knowledge and gaps directly comparable. The picture also shows which assumptions hold up and where evidence is missing.ATAM helps teams weigh architecture decisions when quality goals compete. The team considers business goals, stakeholder expectations, and technical decisions together. The evaluation shows which risks need further investigation.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowHigh
Timedifferent
2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional30–60 minSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope
Participantsdifferent
Designers, developers as users, and facilitation4-8Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisionsEmpathy Map, Assumptions List, Research GapsPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks
SynthesisQualitativeWorkshop
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration for Risk Storming.
Architecture
Risk Storming
Four paper stations connect system purpose, quality goals, risk cards and focused investigation with a target and gap profile.
Architecture
LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)
Affinity Diagramming
UX Research
Affinity Diagramming
Architecture Communication Canvas method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Architecture Communication Canvas