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| Criterion |  Architecture Request for Comments |  UX Research Card Sorting |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Decision Making DACI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 content only makes sense internally and users can't find the structure again, card sorting exposes their mental order. Terms, groups, and naming are then aligned with the target group's expectations. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. | In cross-functional decisions, responsibilities quickly blur between approval, influence, and execution. DACI arranges these roles so decision pressure, contribution, and information stay cleanly separated. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 20-45 min | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-20 Reviewer | Based on research question | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 2-10 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | DACI Matrix, Decision Owner, Decision Log |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | Information architectureNavigationStructure | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | DecisionRolesGovernanceAlignment |