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Criterion
Empathy Mapping
UX Research
Empathy Mapping
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Paper illustration of two user profile cards with a goal, behavior evidence, and an open research question.
UX Research
Personas
Paper illustration for Change Analysis.
Operations
Change Analysis
Purposedifferent
When a lot is assumed about a target group but little is seen jointly, empathy mapping makes knowledge and gaps directly comparable. The picture also shows which assumptions hold up and where evidence is missing.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.When target groups stay too vague and teams talk about the same people differently, personas create a shared, solid picture of usage. Condensed profiles make needs, contexts, and differences tangible enough for decisions.For a deviation after a change, the method isolates the influence of the altered condition. It narrows down which differences are relevant and which are just accompanying noise.
Complexitydifferent
LowHighMediumMedium
Timedifferent
30–60 minPreparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope1-3 Tage45-120 min
Participantsdifferent
4-8Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weightingInternes Team2-6
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Empathy Map, Assumptions List, Research GapsDomain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternativesPersona Profiles, Needs Summary, Scenario NotesChange Matrix, Cause Hypotheses, Validation Questions, Action List
Tagsno overlap
SynthesisQualitativeWorkshop
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
ResearchCustomerSynthesis
ChangeRoot causeTroubleshootingComparison
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