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| Criterion | ![]() Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) | ![]() Knowledge Modeling IBIS | ![]() Product Discovery Smoke Test | ![]() Architecture Architecture Decision Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | IBIS structures thinking about complex questions as a sequence of issues, ideas, and arguments. The method keeps discussions open without forcing them into premature consensus. | When demand only needs to be roughly verified, it tests interest with minimal effort. It measures whether people would take a next step at all. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 1-3 h | 1-5 Tage | 15-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 2-8 | Nutzertraffic | 1-3 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Issue Map, Positions, Argument Notes | Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning Note | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | RationaleKnowledgeDecision | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance |



