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| Criterion |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. | 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 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-90 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 1-2 h | 20–45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 4-12 | Small cross-functional group |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log |
Tagsno overlap | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning |