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| Criterion | ![]() Engineering Fault Isolation | ![]() Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) | ![]() Business Strategy 5-Minuten VC-Check | ![]() Architecture Risk Storming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | In technical failures, the visible symptom often gets mixed up with the actual cause. Fault Isolation narrows the fault space and progressively reduces which part of the system is truly affected. | 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. | The 5-Minute VC Check clarifies opportunities and strategic options at the earliest idea stage. It compares problem quality, customer willingness to pay, alternatives, differentiation, and market potential, and captures the result as a VC-check note, go/sharpen/park decision, and risk list. | Helps clarify architecture context, options, and consequences in concrete terms. It organizes technical context, alternatives, and consequences. The result is captured as an Annotated Diagram, a Prioritized Risk List, and an Action Backlog. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-180 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 5-15 min | 60-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-6 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 1-5 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Fault Isolation Map, Test Log, Excluded Hypotheses, Narrowed Fault Area | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | VC-check note, Go/sharpen/park decision, Risk and assumption list, Next validation step | Annotated Diagram, Prioritized Risk List, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | TroubleshootingDiagnosisEngineering | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | StartupValidationCompetition | RiskArchitectureWorkshopValidation |



