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| Criterion |  Architecture Request for Comments |  Decision Making Decision Tree |  Architecture Software Architecture Canvas |
|---|---|---|---|
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. | The Software Architecture Canvas reduces a system to the most important architecture decisions, constraints, and interfaces. It is useful when teams need a resilient overall picture quickly. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 30-90 min | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-20 Reviewer | 1-6 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Decision Tree, Option Map, Assumption List | Architecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality Attributes |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | DecisionTreeOptions | CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop |
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.
