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Criterion
Paper illustration of an IBIS map with issues, positions and arguments
Knowledge Modeling
IBIS
Paper illustration of Request for Comments (RFC) with its method-specific working model.
Architecture
Request for Comments
A/B Testing workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Growth
A/B Testing
Design sheets and interface cards connect to jointly written pseudocode with highlighted unresolved questions.
Architecture
ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
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.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.When two variants compete, discussions quickly decide by taste rather than effect. A/B Testing checks behavior under controlled conditions and separates real improvement from chance or expectation effects.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.
Complexitydifferent
MediumMediumHighMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 h1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung1-4 Wochen2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional
Participantsdifferent
2-83-20 Reviewer1-6Designers, developers as users, and facilitation
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncAsyncAsyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Issue Map, Positions, Argument NotesRFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or ticketsExperiment results, Decision log, Learning summaryPrioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions
Tagsno overlap
RationaleKnowledgeDecision
ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance
ExperimentsGrowthAnalyticsValidation
ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks
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