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| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Decision Making Force Field Analysis |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |
|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 45-90 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-12 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Force Field Map, Change Levers, Risk Notes | 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 |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | ChangeDecisionStrategy | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality |
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