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| Criterion |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Architecture arc42 |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects. | 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. | arc42 structures architecture knowledge so teams can document system, decisions, and risks consistently. The template builds a living understanding of the architecture instead of scattered notes. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-120 min | 15-45 min | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 1-3 | 1-4 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View |
Tagsno overlap | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication |
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