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Selected:ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Force Field AnalysisArchitecture Decision Recordarc42
| Criterion | ![]() Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) | ![]() Decision Making Force Field Analysis | ![]() Architecture Architecture Decision Record | ![]() 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. | In change initiatives, supporting and restraining forces sit at the table at the same time. Force Field Analysis makes these tensions explicit and shows where change can be pushed forward by strengthening or relieving. | An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable. | 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 | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 45-90 min | 15-45 min | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 3-12 | 1-3 | 1-4 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Force Field Map, Change Levers, Risk Notes | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | ChangeDecisionStrategy | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication |



