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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Future Reality Tree |  Architecture Request for Comments |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | A Future Reality Tree shows how desired actions are meant to lead to a better system state. The method checks whether a path of change holds together logically before time flows into implementation. | An RFC clarifies architecture context, options, and consequences. It structures technical context, alternatives, tradeoffs, open questions, and review feedback, and captures the result as an RFC document, reviewer comments, and a decision rationale. | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-4 h | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 45-90 min | 15-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-20 Reviewer | 2-8 | 1-3 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Async | Workshop + async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Future Reality Tree, Negative Branches, Assumption List, Improved Injections | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | Theory of ConstraintsSystems thinkingChange | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance |