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Selected:ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)BrainstormingFailure Mode and Effects AnalysisLotus Blossom
| Criterion | ![]() Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) | ![]() Innovation Brainstorming | ![]() Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis | ![]() Innovation Lotus Blossom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 a team faces an open question with many obvious directions, the method first creates breadth instead of premature commitment. It separates idea flow from evaluation and makes lines of thought visible, creating a pool for selection and further development. | 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. | When a central question feels too large, the method breaks it into neighboring topic fields with their own depth of ideation. It holds structure and openness at the same time, so adjacent perspectives don't get lost. This grows an idea space out of a core problem. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | High | Low |
Timedifferent | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 30-60 min | 2-6 h | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 4-12 | 3-10 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | 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 | Idea pool, Theme clusters, Shortlist | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Lotus Diagram, Idea Themes, Shortlist |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityWorkshopDivergence | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityDivergenceWorkshop |



