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Selected:Decision JamATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)Trade-off AnalysisSix Thinking Hats
| Criterion |  Facilitation Decision Jam |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |  Facilitation Six Thinking Hats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When a decision is stuck, Decision Jam loosens the knot through structured separation of problem, idea, and selection. The format creates movement without jumping prematurely at the first seemingly elegant answer. | 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. | With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects. | When a topic gets stuck too quickly in the same thinking mode, Six Thinking Hats deliberately separates the perspectives. This means facts, risks, creativity, and emotional signals get worked through one after another instead of mixed together. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 60-90 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 45-120 min | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 2-8 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Cluster, Prioritized Challenge, Experiment | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | Perspective Notes, Decision Inputs, Action Items |
Tagsno overlap | FacilitationDecisionProblem solvingWorkshop | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | FacilitationOptionsDecision |