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| Criterion | ![]() Architecture Views and Beyond | ![]() Decision Making Trade-off Analysis | ![]() Architecture LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews) | ![]() Architecture arc42 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Tage | 45-120 min | 3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 1-4 | 2-8 | 1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people | 1-4 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | Lean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checks | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View |
Tagsno overlap | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication |



