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| Criterion | ![]() Architecture Views and Beyond | ![]() Architecture Software Architecture Canvas | ![]() Architecture arc42 | ![]() Facilitation Alignment Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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. | 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. | When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Tage | 1-2 h | 1-2 Tage | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-4 | 3-10 | 1-4 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale | Architecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality Attributes | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture | CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |



