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Criterion
Paper illustration of two people facing each other, speech bubbles and an open interview notebook.
UX Research
User Interviews
A paper-based illustration representing arc42 with its core stages and visible working result.
Architecture
arc42
Paper illustration for Trade-off Analysis.
Decision Making
Trade-off Analysis
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.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.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.
Complexitydifferent
LowLowMedium
Timedifferent
30–60 min per interview1-2 Tage45-120 min
Participantsdifferent
1 participant per interview1-42-8
Formatsame
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Interview Notes, Themes, Insight SummaryArchitecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment ViewTrade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides
Tagsno overlap
QualitativeResearchCustomerDiscovery
ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication
TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration of a decision table with criteria rows, weighted ratings, and a narrowly leading alternative.
Decision Making
Decision Matrix
Architecture Communication Canvas method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Architecture Communication Canvas
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record
Paper illustration of an assumption matrix with prioritized test cards
Decision Making
Assumption Surfacing