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| Criterion | ![]() Architecture Request for Comments | ![]() Facilitation Nominal Group Technique | ![]() Facilitation Consensus Workshop | ![]() Facilitation Dot Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 loud voices could dominate a round, Nominal Group Technique protects individual thinking time from group effects. It collects ideas separately first and only then enables shared weighting. | When a group needs a solid decision without outvoting individual factions, a Consensus Workshop creates a negotiable common ground. It makes agreement, reservations, and open tensions discussable at the same time. | When a workshop has produced too many options and the group needs to condense quickly, dot voting makes preferences visible in a short time. It bundles individual votes into a solid signal for the next selection. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 60-120 min | 1-3 h | 5-15 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-20 Reviewer | 5-12 | 5-30 | 3-20 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Ranked Ideas, Clarified Options, Group Priority | Consensus Clusters, Theme Titles, Priority Areas | Ranked list, Consensus signal, Shortlist |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | FacilitationPrioritizationVotingInclusion | FacilitationConsensusWorkshopAlignment | FacilitationVotingConsensusPrioritization |



