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| Criterion | ![]() Product Discovery Working Backwards | ![]() Architecture Request for Comments | ![]() Architecture arc42 | ![]() Decision Making Decision Rights Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When the target state and benefit need to be clear first, it thinks backward from the desired outcome into the product logic. It sharpens vision, objections, and value proposition before elaboration. | An RFC clarifies architecture context, options, and consequences. It structures technical context, alternatives, tradeoffs, open questions, and review feedback, and captures the result as an RFC document, reviewer comments, and a decision rationale. | 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. | In organizations with many stakeholders, it often blurs who actually decides and who is merely consulted. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Decision Rights matrix and an agreement. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 4-8 h, mehrere Iterationen | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 1-2 Tage | 90-180 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 3-20 Reviewer | 1-4 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Future Press Release, FAQ, Vision Statement | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Decision Rights Matrix, Agreement |
Tagsno overlap | VisionNarrativeAlignment | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | DecisionGovernanceAlignmentResponsibility |



