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| Criterion |  Architecture Request for Comments |  Systems Thinking Rich Picture |  Architecture arc42 |  Systems Thinking CATWOE Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 Rich Picture brings an unclear situation onto a shared drawing. It captures actors, tensions, information flows, and blind spots before the team jumps to solutions too early. | arc42 structures architecture knowledge so teams can document system, decisions, and risks consistently. The template builds a living understanding of the architecture instead of scattered notes. | CATWOE structures a problem from six viewpoints and prevents too narrow a view of the situation. Different experiences of the system become comparably discussable this way. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 30-90 min | 1-2 Tage | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-20 Reviewer | 2-10 | 1-4 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Rich Picture, Problem Framing Notes | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | CATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders |