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| Criterion |  Architecture Software Architecture Canvas |  Innovation Starbursting |  Innovation Brainstorming |  Architecture Architecture Inception Canvas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | Helps clarify ideas, open questions, and testable next steps in concrete terms. It opens the thinking space, collects ideas, and leads to testable options. The result is captured as a star-shaped question map, question list, and assumption list. | When a team faces an open question with many obvious directions, the method first creates breadth instead of premature commitment. It separates idea flow from evaluation and makes lines of thought visible, creating a pool for selection and further development. | The Architecture Inception Canvas bundles the first architecture questions into a compact decision picture. It fits when an initiative is still in motion but still needs clear guardrails. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | 30-60 min | 30-60 min | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-10 | 4-12 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Architecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality Attributes | Star-Shaped Question Map, Question List, Assumption List | Idea pool, Theme clusters, Shortlist | Inception Canvas, Risks, Goal List, Open Questions |
Tagsno overlap | CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop | BrainstormingIdeationWorkshopDiscovery | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityWorkshopDivergence | AlignmentArchitectureCanvas |