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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Causal Loop Diagram |  Architecture arc42 |  Architecture Views and Beyond |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | A Causal Loop Diagram makes feedback, reinforcement, and balance in a system legible. It uncovers side effects and self-reinforcement that stay hidden in linear explanations. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 1-2 Tage | 1-3 Tage | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 1-4 | 1-4 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Causal Loop Diagram, Feedback Notes, Leverage Points | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions |
Tagsno overlap | FeedbackSystems thinkingCausalityDynamics | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks |