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| Criterion | ![]() Engineering Failure Scenario Analysis | ![]() Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) | ![]() Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | 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 |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 45-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Failure Scenarios, Risk Notes, Control Gaps, Test and Response Actions | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides |
Tagsno overlap | FailureResilienceRisk | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions |
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