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Criterion
Paper illustration for Dot Estimation.
Facilitation
Dot Estimation
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)
Stakeholder Mapping
Facilitation
Stakeholder Mapping
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Purposedifferent
When size or effort can only be estimated roughly, Dot Estimation condenses the group's experience into a quick range. It turns individual contributions into a visible selection. The result is captured as an Effort Heatmap, Risk Signals, and Discussion Targets.LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail.When an initiative depends on many people, interests, and power dynamics, Stakeholder Mapping systematically orders the environment. It shows who influences, who is affected, and where relationship management or safeguarding matters first.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
LowMediumLowHigh
Timedifferent
5-20 min3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional60–90 minPreparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope
Participantsdifferent
3-201 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people2-8Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Effort Heatmap, Risk Signals, Discussion TargetsLean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checksStakeholder Map, Engagement Plan, Risk NotesDomain 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
EstimationEffortRisk
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
StakeholdersAlignmentFacilitationChange
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
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