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| Criterion |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Business Strategy TOWS Matrix |  Product Strategy Impact Mapping |  Business Strategy GAP Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 TOWS Matrix connects internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats into action-oriented strategies. It goes a step further than a pure stocktaking. | 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. | GAP Analysis compares the current state with a target picture and makes the distance manageable. It becomes useful when, ahead of new initiatives, it must become clear which capabilities, processes, or resources are missing. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 1-2 h | 45-90 min | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 3-10 | 3-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | TOWS Matrix, Strategic Options, Priority Actions | Impact Map, Outcome Hypotheses, Delivery Options | Gap Matrix, Action Plan, Risk Notes |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | StrategyAnalysisOptions | OutcomesStrategyBehaviorPlanning | StrategyAnalysisPlanning |