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Criterion
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record
Four paper stations connect system purpose, quality goals, risk cards and focused investigation with a target and gap profile.
Architecture
LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)
Paper fishbone diagram with a measurable effect at the head and six labeled cause branches.
Operations
Fishbone Diagram
A 5 Whys working surface connects an observable problem with evidenced causes, marked uncertainty and concrete countermeasures with ownership.
Operations
5 Whys
Purposedifferent
An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable.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.When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers.For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumLowLow
Timedifferent
15-45 min3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional30-60 min15-30 min
Participantsdifferent
1-31 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people2-82-6
Formatdifferent
AsyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop
Outputdifferent
ADR File, Decision Log, RationaleLean 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 checksFishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation BacklogRoot cause notes, Countermeasures
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
Root causeQualityOperations
Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving
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