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| Criterion |  Facilitation Six Thinking Hats |  Architecture arc42 |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Architecture C4 Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a topic gets stuck too quickly in the same thinking mode, Six Thinking Hats deliberately separates the perspectives. This means facts, risks, creativity, and emotional signals get worked through one after another instead of mixed together. | 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. | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. | 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 | Medium | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 1-2 Tage | 30-90 min | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 4-12 | 1-4 | 2-8 | 1-5 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Perspective Notes, Decision Inputs, Action Items | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram |
Tagsno overlap | FacilitationOptionsDecision | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization |