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| Criterion |  Architecture C4 Model |  Architecture arc42 |  Product Discovery Experiment Canvas |  Product Discovery Test Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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. | When experiments become unreadable after the fact, it arranges hypothesis, signal, and learning goal on a single canvas. It separates problem, assumption, solution, and evidence. The result is captured as a Completed Experiment Canvas and a Success Metric. | The Test Card turns a critical assumption into a testable claim and specifies in advance which result counts as success. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 1-2 Tage | 30-60 min | 20-35 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-5 | 1-4 | 1-5 | 1-5 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Completed Experiment Canvas, Success Metric | Test Card with a pre-set threshold |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | ExperimentsValidationDiscoveryHypothesis | ExperimentsValidationDiscoveryHypothesis |