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| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Business Strategy Value Chain Analysis |  Product Strategy DIBB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | 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. | Value Chain Analysis shows where value is created, costs accrue, and differentiation becomes possible along the process. It compares strengths, risks, market logic, and courses of action. The result is captured as a value-chain map and lever list. | DIBB helps clarify target groups, value, goals, and priorities by making the logic behind a decision explicit. It captures results as a DIBB document, belief list, bet list, and learning report. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | Half day | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 3-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Value Chain Map, Lever List | DIBB document, Belief list, Bet list, Learning report |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | StrategyBusiness modelDiagnosisAnalysis | StrategyDecisionAssumptionsHypothesis |