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| Criterion | ![]() Systems Thinking CATWOE Analysis | ![]() Architecture arc42 | ![]() Decision Making Trade-off Analysis | ![]() Architecture Views and Beyond |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | CATWOE structures a problem from six viewpoints and prevents too narrow a view of the situation. Different experiences of the system become comparably discussable this way. | 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. | With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects. | Views and Beyond organizes architecture into several views so no single diagram has to do everything at once. This makes it possible to choose the representation that fits the stakeholder's question. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 1-2 Tage | 45-120 min | 1-3 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 1-4 | 2-8 | 1-4 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | CATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture |



