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Criterion
Paper illustration for Decision Framing Workshop.
Decision Making
Decision Framing Workshop
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Purposedifferent
When a decision is poorly framed, even good answers deliver little value. A Decision Framing Workshop sharpens the problem, goal, and boundaries before the actual weighing begins.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.SAAM helps teams judge an architecture’s suitability for selected tasks and changes. It is particularly useful for examining modifiability and comparing architecture alternatives with clear reasoning.
Complexitydifferent
MediumHighHigh
Timedifferent
60-120 minSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scopePreparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope
Participantsdifferent
4-10Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholdersArchitecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Decision Frame, Decision Question, Criteria List, Evidence PlanPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsDomain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternatives
Tagsno overlap
Decision framingAlignmentCriteriaOptions
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
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Four paper stations connect system purpose, quality goals, risk cards and focused investigation with a target and gap profile.
Architecture
LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)
Paper illustration for Option Framing.
Decision Making
Option Framing
Stakeholder Mapping
Facilitation
Stakeholder Mapping
Paper illustration for Trade-off Analysis.
Decision Making
Trade-off Analysis