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Selected:IBISARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Architecture Decision RecordArgument Mapping
| Criterion | ![]() Knowledge Modeling IBIS | ![]() Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) | ![]() Architecture Architecture Decision Record | ![]() Decision Making Argument Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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. | 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 statements, evidence, and counterarguments get mixed up, a debate quickly loses its structure. Argument Mapping breaks a thesis down into its reasoning and makes visible what it really rests on. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 15-45 min | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 1-3 | 1-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Issue Map, Positions, Argument Notes | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Argument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | RationaleKnowledgeDecision | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | SensemakingDecisionRationale |



