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| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Business Strategy Value Chain Analysis |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff 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. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | High |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | Half day | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-8 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Value Chain Map, Lever List | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | StrategyBusiness modelDiagnosisAnalysis | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders |
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.
