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Selected:Consensus WorkshopATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)Failure Mode and Effects AnalysisAlignment Mapping
| Criterion |  Facilitation Consensus Workshop |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a group needs a solid decision without outvoting individual factions, a Consensus Workshop creates a negotiable common ground. It makes agreement, reservations, and open tensions discussable at the same time. | 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. | For a process, product, or service with noticeable failure risks, the method assesses possible failure modes in advance. It directs attention to combinations of occurrence, effect, and detectability. | 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 | Medium | High | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 2-6 h | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 5-30 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 3-10 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Consensus Clusters, Theme Titles, Priority Areas | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | FacilitationConsensusWorkshopAlignment | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |