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| Criterion | ![]() UX Research User Interviews | ![]() Architecture Architecture Decision Record | ![]() Delivery Communication Plan | ![]() Architecture Views and Beyond |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When teams derive needs only from assumptions and real motives are missing, user interviews give direct access to behavior and meaning. Conversations from the target group's everyday life make patterns, tensions, and open questions solidly visible. | 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 many people need to be informed in parallel and messages would otherwise arrive unevenly or too late, a Communication Plan orders communication reliably. Channels, audiences, and cadences interlock so important information doesn't get lost. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30–60 min per interview | 15-45 min | 45-90 min | 1-3 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 1 participant per interview | 1-3 | 2-6 | 1-4 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Interview Notes, Themes, Insight Summary | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Communication Plan, Channel Matrix, Message Cadence | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | CommunicationStakeholdersDeliveryPlanning | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture |



