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| Criterion | ![]() Delivery Value Stream Mapping | ![]() Architecture Software Architecture Canvas | ![]() Engineering Kanban | ![]() Architecture Architecture Communication Canvas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When delivery work dissolves into wait times, handoffs, and hidden effort, Value Stream Mapping makes the actual flow visible. The method exposes bottlenecks, idle time, and feedback loops so lead time and improvement levers become tangible. | The Software Architecture Canvas reduces a system to the most important architecture decisions, constraints, and interfaces. It is useful when teams need a resilient overall picture quickly. | When work sits in too many parallel streams, throughput suffers and no one sees the bottlenecks. Kanban makes the flow of work visible and limits overload so a system becomes calmer and more predictable. | The Architecture Communication Canvas plans architecture communication so the right people receive the right message. The method turns technical complexity into deliberate communication design. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 1-2 h | Ongoing | 60-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | 3-10 | 2-12 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Architecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality Attributes | Kanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics | Communication Canvas, Stakeholder Messages, Architecture Communication Plan |
Tagsno overlap | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop | FlowVisual managementDelivery | ArchitectureCommunicationStakeholdersCanvas |



