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| Criterion |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures. | 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 single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 20–45 min | 1-4 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | Small cross-functional group | 3-8 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | 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 | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |