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Selected:Polarity MappingRisk StormingLASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
| Criterion | ![]() Systems Thinking Polarity Mapping | ![]() Architecture Risk Storming | ![]() Architecture LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews) | ![]() Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | Helps clarify architecture context, options, and consequences in concrete terms. It organizes technical context, alternatives, and consequences. The result is captured as an Annotated Diagram, a Prioritized Risk List, and an Action Backlog. | LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail. | 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 | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | 60-90 min | 3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 4-12 | 1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Polarity Map, Warning Signs, Balance Actions | Annotated Diagram, Prioritized Risk List, Action Backlog | Lean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checks | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingTradeoffsLeadership | RiskArchitectureWorkshopValidation | ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks |



