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Criterion
Software Architecture Canvas method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Software Architecture Canvas
Views and Beyond method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Views and Beyond
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
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.Views and Beyond organizes architecture into several views so no single diagram has to do everything at once. This makes it possible to choose the representation that fits the stakeholder's question.An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable.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
LowMediumLowMedium
Timedifferent
1-2 h1-3 Tage15-45 min1-2 h
Participantsdifferent
3-101-41-34-12
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncAsyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Architecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality AttributesArchitecture Views, Cross-view Notes, RationaleADR File, Decision Log, RationaleAlignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions
Tagsno overlap
CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop
DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture
ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance
AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation
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