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| Criterion |  Engineering Failure Scenario Analysis |  Decision Making Risk Matrix |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When a project faces many possible disruptions, it quickly becomes unclear which risks deserve attention first. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Risk Matrix and a Top Risk List. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 30-60 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 20–45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 3-10 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | Small cross-functional group |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Failure Scenarios, Risk Notes, Control Gaps, Test and Response Actions | Risk Matrix, Top Risk List | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log |
Tags1 shared | FailureResilienceRisk | RiskDecisionPrioritizationAssessment | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning |