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| Criterion |  Architecture C4 Model |  Business Strategy 5-Minuten VC-Check |  Product Discovery Smoke Test |  Product Discovery Fake Door Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 demand is still unclear, it measures interest in a feature before it is built. It separates real behavior from polite agreement and deliberately keeps build effort small. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 5-15 min | 1-5 Tage | 1-5 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 1-5 | 1-5 | Nutzertraffic | Nutzertraffic |
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 | Click Data, Interest Signal, Learning Decision |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization | StartupValidationCompetition | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth | ValidationExperimentsDemandDiscovery |