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Selected:Current Reality TreeARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Architecture Decision RecordCausal Factor Analysis
| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Operations Causal Factor Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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. | For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 15-45 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 1-3 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Event Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective Actions |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline |