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Criterion
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem
A paper-based illustration representing arc42 with its core stages and visible working result.
Architecture
arc42
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record
Paper illustration of Request for Comments (RFC) with its method-specific working model.
Architecture
Request for Comments
Purposedifferent
In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures.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.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.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.
Complexitydifferent
LowLowLowMedium
Timedifferent
20–45 min1-2 Tage15-45 min1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung
Participantsdifferent
Small cross-functional group1-41-33-20 Reviewer
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncAsyncAsync
Outputdifferent
Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logArchitecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment ViewADR File, Decision Log, RationaleRFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets
Tagsno overlap
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication
ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance
ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance
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