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Criterion
Paper illustration of a decision table with criteria rows, weighted ratings, and a narrowly leading alternative.
Decision Making
Decision Matrix
Paper illustration of Team API with its method-specific working model.
Team Design
Team API
A paper-based illustration representing arc42 with its core stages and visible working result.
Architecture
arc42
Paper illustration for Trade-off Analysis.
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.When expectations between teams stay fuzzy, it describes how a team can be reached, used, and held accountable. It clarifies responsibility, interaction, and load between teams. The result is captured as a Team API document.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.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
MediumLowLowMedium
Timedifferent
45-90 minHalf day initial, dann laufend1-2 Tage45-120 min
Participantsdifferent
2-8Ein Team plus Stakeholder1-42-8
Formatsame
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Decision Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected OptionTeam API DocumentArchitecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment ViewTrade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides
Tagsno overlap
DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs
TeamAlignmentCommunicationService
ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication
TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions
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