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| Criterion |  Decision Making Cynefin Workshop |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Decision Making Argument Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When problems are unclear, chaotic, or only seemingly familiar, standard recipes fall short. A Cynefin Workshop sorts situations by the nature of their problem and connects them with matching action logic. | 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 statements, evidence, and counterarguments get mixed up, a debate quickly loses its structure. Argument Mapping breaks a thesis down into its reasoning and makes visible what it really rests on. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 60-180 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 20–45 min | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 4-20 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | Small cross-functional group | 1-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Cynefin Map, Domain-specific Actions, Sensemaking Notes | 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 | Argument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | ComplexitySensemakingDecision | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | SensemakingDecisionRationale |