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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 20–45 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | Small cross-functional group | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders |
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.
