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| Criterion |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Decision Making Risk Matrix |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  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. | When a project faces many possible disruptions, it quickly becomes unclear which risks deserve attention first. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Risk Matrix and a Top Risk List. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 20–45 min | 30-60 min | 15-45 min | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | Small cross-functional group | 3-10 | 1-3 | 1-4 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Risk Matrix, Top Risk List | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View |
Tagsno overlap | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | RiskDecisionPrioritizationAssessment | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication |