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Selected:Failure Scenario AnalysisPre-MortemATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)Communication Plan
| Criterion |  Engineering Failure Scenario Analysis |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Delivery Communication Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | 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. | When many people need to be informed in parallel and messages would otherwise arrive unevenly or too late, a Communication Plan orders communication reliably. Channels, audiences, and cadences interlock so important information doesn't get lost. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 20–45 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | Small cross-functional group | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Failure Scenarios, Risk Notes, Control Gaps, Test and Response Actions | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Communication Plan, Channel Matrix, Message Cadence |
Tagsno overlap | FailureResilienceRisk | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | CommunicationStakeholdersDeliveryPlanning |