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Selected:ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)McKinsey 7SSAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)3-Circle Venn Diagram
| Criterion |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Business Strategy McKinsey 7S |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Facilitation 3-Circle Venn Diagram |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | McKinsey 7S checks whether Strategy, Structure, Systems, Shared Values, Skills, Style, and Staff fit together. Organizational misalignments become visible across multiple levers as a result. | SAAM helps teams judge an architecture’s suitability for selected tasks and changes. It is particularly useful for examining modifiability and comparing architecture alternatives with clear reasoning. | When three perspectives matter at the same time, a Three-Circle Venn Diagram shows the overlaps and remainders precisely. It makes visible where shared effect arises and where only a partial perspective applies. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 2-4 h | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 15-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 3-12 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | 7S Assessment, Alignment Gaps, Change Actions | Domain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternatives | Venn Diagram, Overlap Notes, Differentiators |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | OrganizationStrategyAlignmentChange | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | ComparisonFacilitationAlignment |