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| Criterion |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Engineering Fault Isolation |  Business Strategy VRIO Framework |  Facilitation Alignment 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. | 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. | The VRIO Framework rates resources and capabilities on whether they are Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, and Organized. It compares strengths, risks, market logic, and courses of action. The result is captured as a VRIO table and strategic actions. | When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 30-180 min | 90-180 min | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 1-6 | 3-6 | 4-12 |
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 | Fault Isolation Map, Test Log, Excluded Hypotheses, Narrowed Fault Area | VRIO Table, Strategic Actions | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | TroubleshootingDiagnosisEngineering | StrategyDiagnosisBusiness modelCapability | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |