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| Criterion | ![]() Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) | ![]() Business Strategy 5-Minuten VC-Check | ![]() Architecture arc42 | ![]() Architecture C4 Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 5-Minute VC Check clarifies opportunities and strategic options at the earliest idea stage. It compares problem quality, customer willingness to pay, alternatives, differentiation, and market potential, and captures the result as a VC-check note, go/sharpen/park decision, and risk list. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 5-15 min | 1-2 Tage | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 1-5 | 1-4 | 1-5 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | VC-check note, Go/sharpen/park decision, Risk and assumption list, Next validation step | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | StartupValidationCompetition | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization |



