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| Criterion |  Decision Making Decision Tree |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Knowledge Modeling IBIS |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For decisions with follow-on paths and dependencies, a linear comparison is often not enough. A Decision Tree shows how options branch under conditions and which consequences hang on each branch. | 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. | IBIS structures thinking about complex questions as a sequence of issues, ideas, and arguments. The method keeps discussions open without forcing them into premature consensus. | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 1-3 h | 30-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-6 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Issue Map, Positions, Argument Notes | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries |
Tagsno overlap | DecisionTreeOptions | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | RationaleKnowledgeDecision | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions |