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Criterion
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem
Paper illustration of Request for Comments (RFC) with its method-specific working model.
Architecture
Request for Comments
Paper illustration for Communication Plan
Delivery
Communication Plan
A paper-based illustration representing arc42 with its core stages and visible working result.
Architecture
arc42
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.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 many people need to be informed in parallel and messages would otherwise arrive unevenly or too late, a Communication Plan orders communication reliably. Channels, audiences, and cadences interlock so important information doesn't get lost.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
LowMediumLowLow
Timedifferent
20–45 min1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung45-90 min1-2 Tage
Participantsdifferent
Small cross-functional group3-20 Reviewer2-61-4
Formatdifferent
WorkshopAsyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logRFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or ticketsCommunication Plan, Channel Matrix, Message CadenceArchitecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View
Tagsno overlap
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance
CommunicationStakeholdersDeliveryPlanning
ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication
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