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| Criterion |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Architecture arc42 |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-120 min | 30-90 min | 1-2 Tage | 15-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-8 | 1-4 | 1-3 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance |