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| Criterion |  Architecture C4 Model |  Business Strategy 5-Minuten VC-Check |  Product Discovery Smoke Test |  Growth A/B Testing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | The 5-Minute VC Check clarifies opportunities and strategic options at the earliest idea stage. It compares problem quality, customer willingness to pay, alternatives, differentiation, and market potential, and captures the result as a VC-check note, go/sharpen/park decision, and risk list. | When demand only needs to be roughly verified, it tests interest with minimal effort. It measures whether people would take a next step at all. | When two variants compete, discussions quickly decide by taste rather than effect. A/B Testing checks behavior under controlled conditions and separates real improvement from chance or expectation effects. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 5-15 min | 1-5 Tage | 1-4 Wochen |
Participantsdifferent | 1-5 | 1-5 | Nutzertraffic | 1-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram | VC-check note, Go/sharpen/park decision, Risk and assumption list, Next validation step | Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning Note | Experiment results, Decision log, Learning summary |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization | StartupValidationCompetition | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth | ExperimentsGrowthAnalyticsValidation |