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| Criterion | ![]() Business Strategy SWOT Analysis | ![]() Architecture Architecture Decision Record | ![]() Facilitation Alignment Mapping | ![]() Business Strategy PESTLE Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | SWOT Analysis arranges strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats into a compact picture of the situation. It keeps internal capabilities and external influences separate before strategic options emerge from them. | 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. | PESTLE Analysis makes political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental influences visible. The environment of an initiative is thereby read systematically instead of through isolated trends. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | 15-45 min | 1-2 h | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 1-3 | 4-12 | 2-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | SWOT matrix, Strategic options, Action list | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions | PESTLE Map, External Risks, Strategic Questions |
Tagsno overlap | StrategyAnalysisMarketPositioning | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation | StrategyMarketAnalysis |



