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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking CATWOE Analysis |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Systems Thinking Rich Picture |  Architecture C4 Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | A Rich Picture brings an unclear situation onto a shared drawing. It captures actors, tensions, information flows, and blind spots before the team jumps to solutions too early. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 30-90 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 2-10 | 1-5 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | 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 | Rich Picture, Problem Framing Notes | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization |