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| Criterion |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Product Strategy Impact Mapping |  Architecture C4 Model |  Delivery Communication Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 goal needs to be connected to several possible paths, it shows chains of impact instead of feature lists. It connects business goal, behavior change, and measures. | 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. | When many people need to be informed in parallel and messages would otherwise arrive unevenly or too late, a Communication Plan orders communication reliably. Channels, audiences, and cadences interlock so important information doesn't get lost. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 45-90 min | 1-4 h | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 3-8 | 1-5 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Impact Map, Outcome Hypotheses, Delivery Options | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram | Communication Plan, Channel Matrix, Message Cadence |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | OutcomesStrategyBehaviorPlanning | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization | CommunicationStakeholdersDeliveryPlanning |