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Selected:ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)Fault IsolationRoot Cause AnalysisFailure Mode and Effects Analysis
| Criterion |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Engineering Fault Isolation |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  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. | In technical failures, the visible symptom often gets mixed up with the actual cause. Fault Isolation narrows the fault space and progressively reduces which part of the system is truly affected. | When a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | 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 | Medium | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 30-180 min | 1-4 h | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 1-6 | 3-8 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | 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 | Fault Isolation Map, Test Log, Excluded Hypotheses, Narrowed Fault Area | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | TroubleshootingDiagnosisEngineering | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause |