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| Criterion |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Decision Making Risk Matrix |  Architecture arc42 |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When a project faces many possible disruptions, it quickly becomes unclear which risks deserve attention first. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Risk Matrix and a Top Risk List. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 30-60 min | 1-2 Tage | 20–45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-10 | 1-4 | Small cross-functional group |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Risk Matrix, Top Risk List | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log |
Tagsno overlap | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | RiskDecisionPrioritizationAssessment | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning |