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Criterion
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration of a branching impact map with a Why goal at the root, actor circles, How behavior changes and What options.
Product Strategy
Impact Mapping
Views and Beyond method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Views and Beyond
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
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.When a goal needs to be connected to several possible paths, it shows chains of impact instead of feature lists. It connects business goal, behavior change, and measures.Views and Beyond organizes architecture into several views so no single diagram has to do everything at once. This makes it possible to choose the representation that fits the stakeholder's question.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
HighMediumMediumMedium
Timedifferent
Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope45-90 min1-3 Tage1-2 h
Participantsdifferent
Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders3-81-44-12
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsImpact Map, Outcome Hypotheses, Delivery OptionsArchitecture Views, Cross-view Notes, RationaleAlignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
OutcomesStrategyBehaviorPlanning
DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture
AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation
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