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| Criterion |  Architecture Request for Comments |  Decision Making Decision Tree |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 decisions with follow-on paths and dependencies, a linear comparison is often not enough. A Decision Tree shows how options branch under conditions and which consequences hang on each branch. | In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures. | An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 30-90 min | 20–45 min | 15-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-20 Reviewer | 1-6 | Small cross-functional group | 1-3 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Async |
Outputdifferent | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | DecisionTreeOptions | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance |