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Selected:Causal Loop DiagramARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Architecture Decision RecordCurrent Reality Tree
| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Causal Loop Diagram |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 15-45 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 1-3 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Causal Loop Diagram, Feedback Notes, Leverage Points | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | FeedbackSystems thinkingCausalityDynamics | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality |