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| Criterion |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |  Architecture Request for Comments |  Architecture arc42 |  Operations Barrier Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. | An RFC clarifies architecture context, options, and consequences. It structures technical context, alternatives, tradeoffs, open questions, and review feedback, and captures the result as an RFC document, reviewer comments, and a decision rationale. | 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. | For a risk that can only be managed through multiple layers of protection, the method examines the effectiveness of each barrier. It shows where safeguards are missing, too weak, or fail under real conditions. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 1-2 Tage | 2-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-20 Reviewer | 1-4 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Barrier Inventory, Failure Analysis per Barrier, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | Root causeSafetyIncident |