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| Criterion |  Decision Making Decision Matrix |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Decision Making Cynefin Workshop |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When several options collide with several criteria, comparison quickly becomes subjective. A Decision Matrix makes the trade-off visible and brings weighting, criteria, and options into a shared logic. | 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. | When problems are unclear, chaotic, or only seemingly familiar, standard recipes fall short. A Cynefin Workshop sorts situations by the nature of their problem and connects them with matching action logic. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 15-45 min | 60-180 min | 45-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 1-3 | 4-20 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Decision Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected Option | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Cynefin Map, Domain-specific Actions, Sensemaking Notes | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides |
Tagsno overlap | DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | ComplexitySensemakingDecision | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions |