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Selected:Failure Scenario Analysisarc42ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)Architecture Decision Record
| Criterion |  Engineering Failure Scenario Analysis |  Architecture arc42 |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | In critical processes, it is not enough to plan only for the normal case. Failure Scenario Analysis looks at the path into failure and shows which failures, chains, and control gaps cause the most damage. | arc42 structures architecture knowledge so teams can document system, decisions, and risks consistently. The template builds a living understanding of the architecture instead of scattered notes. | 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. | An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 1-2 Tage | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 15-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 1-4 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 1-3 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async |
Outputdifferent | Failure Scenarios, Risk Notes, Control Gaps, Test and Response Actions | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | FailureResilienceRisk | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance |