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| Criterion |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Architecture arc42 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. | 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. | In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures. | 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. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 15-45 min | 20–45 min | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 1-3 | Small cross-functional group | 1-4 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View |
Tagsno overlap | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication |