View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
Selected:Request for CommentsCausal Loop DiagramCurrent Reality TreeARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
| Criterion | ![]() Architecture Request for Comments | ![]() Systems Thinking Causal Loop Diagram | ![]() Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree | ![]() Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | A Causal Loop Diagram makes feedback, reinforcement, and balance in a system legible. It uncovers side effects and self-reinforcement that stay hidden in linear explanations. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 1-3 h | 2-6 h | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional |
Participantsdifferent | 3-20 Reviewer | 2-8 | 3-8 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Causal Loop Diagram, Feedback Notes, Leverage Points | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | FeedbackSystems thinkingCausalityDynamics | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks |



