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| Criterion |  Decision Making Decision Matrix |  Facilitation Power Interest Grid |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When many stakeholders compete for attention at once, the Power Interest Grid sorts them by influence and stake. It turns individual contributions into a visible selection. The result is captured as a Power Interest Grid and a stakeholder-specific strategy. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 30-60 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 20–45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-8 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | Small cross-functional group |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Decision Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected Option | Power Interest Grid, Strategy per Stakeholder | 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 |
Tagsno overlap | DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs | StakeholdersFacilitationAlignmentPlanning | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning |