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| Criterion |  Decision Making Decision Framing Workshop |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Decision Making DACI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a decision is poorly framed, even good answers deliver little value. A Decision Framing Workshop sharpens the problem, goal, and boundaries before the actual weighing begins. | With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects. | 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 cross-functional decisions, responsibilities quickly blur between approval, influence, and execution. DACI arranges these roles so decision pressure, contribution, and information stay cleanly separated. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 60-120 min | 45-120 min | 15-45 min | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 2-8 | 1-3 | 2-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Decision Frame, Decision Question, Criteria List, Evidence Plan | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | DACI Matrix, Decision Owner, Decision Log |
Tagsno overlap | Decision framingAlignmentCriteriaOptions | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | DecisionRolesGovernanceAlignment |