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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 of Cost of Delay with its method-specific working model.
Delivery
Cost of Delay
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.Helps clarify scope, order, and delivery flow in concrete terms. It makes work, constraints, and sequence manageable. The result is captured as a Cost of Delay table and prioritization sequence.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumHigh
Timedifferent
20–45 min1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung90-180 min
Participantsdifferent
Small cross-functional group3-20 Reviewer3-8
Formatdifferent
WorkshopAsyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logRFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or ticketsCoD Table, Prioritization Sequence
Tags1 shared
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance
PrioritizationDeliveryEconomicsDecision
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration of a calibrated five-by-five risk matrix with response cards.
Decision Making
Risk Matrix
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 an assumption matrix with prioritized test cards
Decision Making
Assumption Surfacing
Paper illustration for Communication Plan
Delivery
Communication Plan