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Selected:ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)Force Field AnalysisChange Analysis
| Criterion |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Force Field Analysis |  Operations Change Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | In change initiatives, supporting and restraining forces sit at the table at the same time. Force Field Analysis makes these tensions explicit and shows where change can be pushed forward by strengthening or relieving. | For a deviation after a change, the method isolates the influence of the altered condition. It narrows down which differences are relevant and which are just accompanying noise. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 45-90 min | 45-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 3-12 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Domain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternatives | Force Field Map, Change Levers, Risk Notes | Change Matrix, Cause Hypotheses, Validation Questions, Action List |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | ChangeDecisionStrategy | ChangeRoot causeTroubleshootingComparison |