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Criterion
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment Mapping
Paper illustration for Decision Framing Workshop.
Decision Making
Decision Framing Workshop
Paper illustration for Option Framing.
Decision Making
Option Framing
Purposedifferent
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.When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable.When a decision is poorly framed, even good answers deliver little value. A Decision Framing Workshop sharpens the problem, goal, and boundaries before the actual weighing begins.In early decisions, alternatives are often still vague, incomplete, or blended together. Option Framing brings every possibility into a comparable form and makes visible which variant actually fits the question.
Complexitydifferent
HighMediumMediumMedium
Timedifferent
Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope1-2 h60-120 min45-120 min
Participantsdifferent
Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders4-124-103-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsAlignment Map, Open Issues, Decision QuestionsDecision Frame, Decision Question, Criteria List, Evidence PlanOption Frames, Assumption Notes, Comparable Shortlist, Decision Inputs
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation
Decision framingAlignmentCriteriaOptions
OptionsDecision framingStrategyComparison
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