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Criterion
Design sheets and interface cards connect to jointly written pseudocode with highlighted unresolved questions.
Architecture
ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Evaporating Cloud.
Systems Thinking
Evaporating Cloud
Purposedifferent
ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification.SAAM helps teams judge an architecture’s suitability for selected tasks and changes. It is particularly useful for examining modifiability and comparing architecture alternatives with clear reasoning.The method makes visible why two seemingly incompatible demands arise and which assumption must be tested to resolve the conflict.
Complexitydifferent
MediumHighMedium
Timedifferent
2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additionalPreparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope60-120 min
Participantsdifferent
Designers, developers as users, and facilitationArchitecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting2-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisionsDomain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternativesConflict Cloud, Assumption List, Breakthrough Ideas, Next Experiments
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
Theory of ConstraintsAssumptionsSystems thinking
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration for Future Reality Tree.
Systems Thinking
Future Reality Tree
Paper illustration of a calm four-quadrant Assumption Map with hypothesis cards and emphasis on important assumptions with little evidence.
Product Discovery
Assumption Mapping
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Causal Loop Diagram workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Systems Thinking
Causal Loop Diagram