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| Criterion | ![]() Systems Thinking CATWOE Analysis | ![]() Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) | ![]() Architecture arc42 | ![]() 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. | 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. | 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. | 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 | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 1-2 Tage | 1-3 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 1-4 | 1-4 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | CATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture |



