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Selected:ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)Assumption SurfacingFishbone DiagramFailure Mode and Effects Analysis
| Criterion |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers. | For a process, product, or service with noticeable failure risks, the method assesses possible failure modes in advance. It directs attention to combinations of occurrence, effect, and detectability. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | Low | High |
Timedifferent | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 45-90 min | 30-60 min | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 2-8 | 2-8 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | Root causeQualityOperations | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause |