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Selected:SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Architecture Communication CanvasC4 Model
| Criterion |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Architecture Architecture Communication Canvas |  Architecture C4 Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | SAAM helps teams judge an architecture’s suitability for selected tasks and changes. It is particularly useful for examining modifiability and comparing architecture alternatives with clear reasoning. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. | The Architecture Communication Canvas plans architecture communication so the right people receive the right message. The method turns technical complexity into deliberate communication design. | The C4 Model makes a system legible across several resolution levels, from context down to code. It suits situations where different audiences need to understand the same architecture from different altitudes. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 60-120 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 2-8 | 1-5 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Domain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternatives | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Communication Canvas, Stakeholder Messages, Architecture Communication Plan | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram |
Tags1 shared | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | ArchitectureCommunicationStakeholdersCanvas | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization |