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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 of Request for Comments (RFC) with its method-specific working model.
Architecture
Request for Comments
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.An RFC clarifies architecture context, options, and consequences. It structures technical context, alternatives, tradeoffs, open questions, and review feedback, and captures the result as an RFC document, reviewer comments, and a decision rationale.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowMedium
Timedifferent
2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional30–60 min1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung
Participantsdifferent
Designers, developers as users, and facilitation4-83-20 Reviewer
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopAsync
Outputdifferent
Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisionsEmpathy Map, Assumptions List, Research GapsRFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks
SynthesisQualitativeWorkshop
ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration for Risk Storming.
Architecture
Risk Storming
Affinity Diagramming
UX Research
Affinity Diagramming
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record