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| Criterion |  Architecture Request for Comments |  Systems Thinking CATWOE Analysis |  Decision Making Decision Rights Mapping |  Facilitation Alignment 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. | CATWOE structures a problem from six viewpoints and prevents too narrow a view of the situation. Different experiences of the system become comparably discussable this way. | 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. | When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 45-90 min | 90-180 min | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-20 Reviewer | 3-8 | 4-12 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | CATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints | Decision Rights Matrix, Agreement | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders | DecisionGovernanceAlignmentResponsibility | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |