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Criterion
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Trade-off Analysis.
Decision Making
Trade-off Analysis
Paper illustration of Request for Comments (RFC) with its method-specific working model.
Architecture
Request for Comments
Paper illustration of RAID Log with a method-specific labelled workspace.
Delivery
RAID Log
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.With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects.An RFC clarifies architecture context, options, and consequences. It structures technical context, alternatives, tradeoffs, open questions, and review feedback, and captures the result as an RFC document, reviewer comments, and a decision rationale.Helps clarify scope, sequence, and delivery flow in concrete terms. It makes work, boundaries, and order steerable. The result is captured as a RAID Log and a source for status reporting.
Complexitydifferent
HighMediumMediumLow
Timedifferent
Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope45-120 min1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung30 min Setup, dann laufend
Participantsdifferent
Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders2-83-20 Reviewer1-3 maintaining, briefing for everyone
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncAsyncAsync
Outputdifferent
Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsTrade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted DownsidesRFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or ticketsRAID Log, Status Report Source
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions
ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance
RiskTrackingStakeholdersGovernance
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