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| Criterion |  Architecture Software Architecture Canvas |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Architecture Request for Comments |  Decision Making Decision Rights Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | The Software Architecture Canvas reduces a system to the most important architecture decisions, constraints, and interfaces. It is useful when teams need a resilient overall picture quickly. | 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. | 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. | In organizations with many stakeholders, it often blurs who actually decides and who is merely consulted. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Decision Rights matrix and an agreement. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | 30-90 min | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 90-180 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 2-8 | 3-20 Reviewer | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Architecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality Attributes | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Decision Rights Matrix, Agreement |
Tagsno overlap | CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | DecisionGovernanceAlignmentResponsibility |