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| Criterion |  Architecture Software Architecture Canvas |  UX Research User Interviews |  Facilitation Consensus Workshop |  Facilitation Alignment 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 teams derive needs only from assumptions and real motives are missing, user interviews give direct access to behavior and meaning. Conversations from the target group's everyday life make patterns, tensions, and open questions solidly visible. | When a group needs a solid decision without outvoting individual factions, a Consensus Workshop creates a negotiable common ground. It makes agreement, reservations, and open tensions discussable at the same time. | When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | 30–60 min per interview | 1-3 h | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 1 participant per interview | 5-30 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Architecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality Attributes | Interview Notes, Themes, Insight Summary | Consensus Clusters, Theme Titles, Priority Areas | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop | QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery | FacilitationConsensusWorkshopAlignment | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |