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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
Views and Beyond method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Views and Beyond
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record
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.Views and Beyond organizes architecture into several views so no single diagram has to do everything at once. This makes it possible to choose the representation that fits the stakeholder's question.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.
Complexitydifferent
LowLowMediumLow
Timedifferent
20–45 min1-2 Tage1-3 Tage15-45 min
Participantsdifferent
Small cross-functional group1-41-41-3
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncAsync
Outputdifferent
Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logArchitecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment ViewArchitecture Views, Cross-view Notes, RationaleADR File, Decision Log, Rationale
Tagsno overlap
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication
DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture
ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance
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