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Selected:ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)Assumption SurfacingTrade-off AnalysisAssumption Mapping
| Criterion |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |  Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects. | When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 45-90 min | 45-120 min | 45-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 2-8 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
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 | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation |