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Criterion
Paper illustration of the Lightning Decision Jam working structure.
Facilitation
Decision Jam
Design sheets and interface cards connect to jointly written pseudocode with highlighted unresolved questions.
Architecture
ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
Paper illustration of the Consensus Workshop working structure.
Facilitation
Consensus Workshop
Software Architecture Canvas method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Software Architecture Canvas
Purposedifferent
When a decision is stuck, Decision Jam loosens the knot through structured separation of problem, idea, and selection. The format creates movement without jumping prematurely at the first seemingly elegant answer.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.When a group needs a solid decision without outvoting individual factions, a Consensus Workshop creates a negotiable common ground. It makes agreement, reservations, and open tensions discussable at the same time.The Software Architecture Canvas reduces a system to the most important architecture decisions, constraints, and interfaces. It is useful when teams need a resilient overall picture quickly.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumMediumLow
Timedifferent
60-90 min2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional1-3 h1-2 h
Participantsdifferent
4-10Designers, developers as users, and facilitation5-303-10
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Problem Cluster, Prioritized Challenge, ExperimentPrioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisionsConsensus Clusters, Theme Titles, Priority AreasArchitecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality Attributes
Tagsno overlap
FacilitationDecisionProblem solvingWorkshop
ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks
FacilitationConsensusWorkshopAlignment
CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop
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