methodatlas
Compare

View methods side by side.

Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.

Criterion
Paper illustration of Request for Comments (RFC) with its method-specific working model.
Architecture
Request for Comments
Paper illustration for Causal Factor Analysis.
Operations
Causal Factor Analysis
Paper illustration for Argument Mapping
Decision Making
Argument 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.For an event with a complicated course, the method breaks down the contributing factors along the timeline. It shows how conditions, decisions, and reactions together produce a course of events.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.
Complexitydifferent
MediumHighMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung2-6 h1-3 h
Participantsdifferent
3-20 Reviewer3-101-8
Formatdifferent
AsyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or ticketsEvent Timeline, Causal Factor Chart, Cause List, Corrective ActionsArgument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision Rationale
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance
CausalityIncidentRoot causeTimeline
SensemakingDecisionRationale
Add more methods

Often compared together

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

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 Barrier Analysis with its method-specific working model.
Operations
Barrier Analysis
Paper illustration for Current Reality Tree
Systems Thinking
Current Reality Tree