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Selected:Architecture Inception CanvasATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)Views and BeyondAlignment Mapping
| Criterion |  Architecture Architecture Inception Canvas |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Architecture Views and Beyond |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | The Architecture Inception Canvas bundles the first architecture questions into a compact decision picture. It fits when an initiative is still in motion but still needs clear guardrails. | ATAM helps teams weigh architecture decisions when quality goals compete. The team considers business goals, stakeholder expectations, and technical decisions together. The evaluation shows which risks need further investigation. | 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. | 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 | Low | High | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 1-3 Tage | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 1-4 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Inception Canvas, Risks, Goal List, Open Questions | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | AlignmentArchitectureCanvas | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |