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| Criterion |  Architecture Request for Comments |  Agile WSJF |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Delivery Cost of Delay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 many tasks compete for the same capacity, it orders work by economic impact. It makes time lost, benefit, and effort comparable together. | ATAM helps teams weigh architecture decisions when quality goals compete. The team considers business goals, stakeholder expectations, and technical decisions together. The evaluation shows which risks need further investigation. | Helps clarify scope, order, and delivery flow in concrete terms. It makes work, constraints, and sequence manageable. The result is captured as a Cost of Delay table and prioritization sequence. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | High | High |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 45-90 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 90-180 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-20 Reviewer | 3-10 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Ranked Backlog, Cost-of-Delay Assumptions | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | CoD Table, Prioritization Sequence |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | LeanEconomicsSequencePrioritization | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | PrioritizationDeliveryEconomicsDecision |