View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
| Criterion |  Architecture C4 Model |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Product Discovery Outcome-Driven Innovation |  Architecture arc42 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | Outcome-Driven Innovation clarifies customer problems, solution opportunities, and evidence. It separates jobs, desired outcomes, importance, satisfaction, and opportunity, and captures results as desired outcome statements, an opportunity landscape, and segments by underserved needs. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | Mehrere Wochen | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 1-5 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 2-6 researchers plus sample | 1-4 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Desired outcome statements, Opportunity landscape, Segmentation by underserved needs, Innovation hypotheses | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | OutcomesInnovationResearchQuantitative | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication |