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Criterion
Paper illustration of a Polarity Map with two poles and four quadrants
Systems Thinking
Polarity Mapping
Design sheets and interface cards connect to jointly written pseudocode with highlighted unresolved questions.
Architecture
ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
A paper-based illustration representing arc42 with its core stages and visible working result.
Architecture
arc42
Purposedifferent
Polarity Mapping makes tensions between two opposing poles tangible, such as standardization and adaptation or control and autonomy. The method guards against making apparent either-or decisions prematurely.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.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.
Complexitydifferent
MediumMediumLow
Timedifferent
1-2 h2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional1-2 Tage
Participantsdifferent
3-12Designers, developers as users, and facilitation1-4
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Polarity Map, Warning Signs, Balance ActionsPrioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisionsArchitecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View
Tagsno overlap
Systems thinkingTradeoffsLeadership
ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks
ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Architecture Communication Canvas method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Architecture Communication Canvas
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
A paper-based illustration representing C4 Model with its core stages and visible working result.
Architecture
C4 Model