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Criterion
A paper-based illustration representing C4 Model with its core stages and visible working result.
Architecture
C4 Model
Paper illustration for Communication Plan
Delivery
Communication Plan
Design sheets and interface cards connect to jointly written pseudocode with highlighted unresolved questions.
Architecture
ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
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.When many people need to be informed in parallel and messages would otherwise arrive unevenly or too late, a Communication Plan orders communication reliably. Channels, audiences, and cadences interlock so important information doesn't get lost.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.
Complexitydifferent
LowLowMedium
Timedifferent
1-4 h45-90 min2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional
Participantsdifferent
1-52-6Designers, developers as users, and facilitation
Formatsame
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component DiagramCommunication Plan, Channel Matrix, Message CadencePrioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization
CommunicationStakeholdersDeliveryPlanning
ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Architecture Communication Canvas method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Architecture Communication Canvas
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper notes move from an inbox to action, project and calendar collections.
Operations
Getting Things Done