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| Criterion |  Product Discovery Context Canvas |  Architecture Views and Beyond |  Architecture arc42 |  Architecture C4 Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When an environment of users, systems, and constraints is hard to grasp, it puts the context compactly on the table. It creates a clear reading of influence, boundary, and dependency. | 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. | 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. | The C4 Model makes a system legible across several resolution levels, from context down to code. It suits situations where different audiences need to understand the same architecture from different altitudes. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 1-3 Tage | 1-2 Tage | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 1-4 | 1-4 | 1-5 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Context canvas, Open questions, Shared context notes | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram |
Tagsno overlap | ContextFramingRequirementsCanvas | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization |