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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 Dot Estimation.
Facilitation
Dot Estimation
Anonymous individual judgments pass through feedback loops to form a distribution.
Decision Making
Delphi Method
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 size or effort can only be estimated roughly, Dot Estimation condenses the group's experience into a quick range. It turns individual contributions into a visible selection. The result is captured as an Effort Heatmap, Risk Signals, and Discussion Targets.When knowledge is distributed and direct dominance should be avoided, groups quickly fall under the sway of their opinion leaders. The Delphi Method gathers assessments iteratively and gradually brings expert judgments closer together.
Complexitydifferent
HighLowHigh
Timedifferent
Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope5-20 min1-4 Wochen
Participantsdifferent
Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders3-206-30 Experten
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopAsync
Outputdifferent
Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsEffort Heatmap, Risk Signals, Discussion TargetsExpert Forecast, Consensus Range, Assumption Notes
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
EstimationEffortRisk
ForecastingExpertsDecisionStrategy
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Four paper stations connect system purpose, quality goals, risk cards and focused investigation with a target and gap profile.
Architecture
LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)
Paper illustration for Wideband Delphi.
Decision Making
Wideband Delphi
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment Mapping
Architecture Communication Canvas method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Architecture Communication Canvas