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| Criterion |  Architecture Request for Comments |  Decision Making Argument Mapping |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Decision Making Decision Rights Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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 statements, evidence, and counterarguments get mixed up, a debate quickly loses its structure. Argument Mapping breaks a thesis down into its reasoning and makes visible what it really rests on. | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. | In organizations with many stakeholders, it often blurs who actually decides and who is merely consulted. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Decision Rights matrix and an agreement. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 1-3 h | 30-90 min | 90-180 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-20 Reviewer | 1-8 | 2-8 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Argument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision Rationale | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Decision Rights Matrix, Agreement |
Tags1 shared | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | SensemakingDecisionRationale | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | DecisionGovernanceAlignmentResponsibility |