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| Criterion | ![]() Architecture C4 Model | ![]() Agile Mad Sad Glad | ![]() Agile Sailboat Retrospective | ![]() Agile Starfish Retrospective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 a team's or workshop's mood needs to become readable, it structures emotional signals with little setup. It makes strain, relief, and sources of energy tangible. | When a team wants to read momentum, brakes, and risks together, it offers an easily understandable picture of the situation. It makes drive, obstacles, and headwind visible in the same picture. | When improvement options need to be sorted more finely than just start and stop, it brings observations into clear kinds of action. This makes visible what should be done more, less, newly, or continued. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 30-60 min | 45-90 min | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-5 | 3-10 | 4-12 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram | Emotion Board, Themes, Action Items | Sailboat Board, Risks, Improvement Actions | Starfish Board, Practice Changes, Experiments |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization | RetrospectiveTeamReflection | RetrospectiveTeamImprovement | RetrospectiveImprovementExperimentsTeam |



