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| Criterion |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Business Strategy TOWS Matrix |  Business Strategy Value Chain 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. | Value Chain Analysis shows where value is created, costs accrue, and differentiation becomes possible along the process. It compares strengths, risks, market logic, and courses of action. The result is captured as a value-chain map and lever list. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 1-2 h | Half day |
Participantsdifferent | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 3-10 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | TOWS Matrix, Strategic Options, Priority Actions | Value Chain Map, Lever List |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | StrategyAnalysisOptions | StrategyBusiness modelDiagnosisAnalysis |
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