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Criterion
Paper illustration of Request for Comments (RFC) with its method-specific working model.
Architecture
Request for Comments
Paper illustration for Constraint Analysis.
Decision Making
Constraint Analysis
Design sheets and interface cards connect to jointly written pseudocode with highlighted unresolved questions.
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.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.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
MediumLowMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung30-90 min2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional
Participantsdifferent
3-20 Reviewer2-8Designers, developers as users, and facilitation
Formatdifferent
AsyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or ticketsConstraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision BoundariesPrioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance
ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions
ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks
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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 Decision Rights Mapping with its method-specific working model.
Decision Making
Decision Rights Mapping
Decision Tree method illustration showing its working structure
Decision Making
Decision Tree