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Selected:Decision MatrixATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)Views and BeyondTrade-off Analysis
| Criterion |  Decision Making Decision Matrix |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Architecture Views and Beyond |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When several options collide with several criteria, comparison quickly becomes subjective. A Decision Matrix makes the trade-off visible and brings weighting, criteria, and options into a shared 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. | Views and Beyond organizes architecture into several views so no single diagram has to do everything at once. This makes it possible to choose the representation that fits the stakeholder's question. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 1-3 Tage | 45-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 1-4 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Decision Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected Option | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides |
Tagsno overlap | DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions |