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| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Architecture arc42 |  Architecture Architecture Inception Canvas |  Architecture Software Architecture Canvas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | 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. | The Architecture Inception Canvas bundles the first architecture questions into a compact decision picture. It fits when an initiative is still in motion but still needs clear guardrails. | The Software Architecture Canvas reduces a system to the most important architecture decisions, constraints, and interfaces. It is useful when teams need a resilient overall picture quickly. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 1-2 Tage | 1-2 h | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 1-4 | 3-8 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Inception Canvas, Risks, Goal List, Open Questions | Architecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality Attributes |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | AlignmentArchitectureCanvas | CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop |