View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
Selected:Stock and Flow DiagramCausal Loop DiagramRisk StormingARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
| Criterion | ![]() Systems Thinking Stock and Flow Diagram | ![]() Systems Thinking Causal Loop Diagram | ![]() Architecture Risk Storming | ![]() Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | A Stock and Flow Diagram shows how stocks, inflows, and outflows shape a system over time. It is especially suited when growth, delays, or capacity limits determine the dynamics. | A Causal Loop Diagram makes feedback, reinforcement, and balance in a system legible. It uncovers side effects and self-reinforcement that stay hidden in linear explanations. | Helps clarify architecture context, options, and consequences in concrete terms. It organizes technical context, alternatives, and consequences. The result is captured as an Annotated Diagram, a Prioritized Risk List, and an Action Backlog. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 1-3 h | 60-90 min | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional |
Participantsdifferent | 1-6 | 2-8 | 4-12 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Stock and Flow Model, Dynamics Notes, Simulation Hypotheses | Causal Loop Diagram, Feedback Notes, Leverage Points | Annotated Diagram, Prioritized Risk List, Action Backlog | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions |
Tagsno overlap | DynamicsSimulationFeedbackSystems thinking | FeedbackSystems thinkingCausalityDynamics | RiskArchitectureWorkshopValidation | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks |



