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| Criterion |  Engineering Fault Isolation |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Architecture arc42 |  Operations Change Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | SAAM helps teams judge an architecture’s suitability for selected tasks and changes. It is particularly useful for examining modifiability and comparing architecture alternatives with clear reasoning. | 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. | For a deviation after a change, the method isolates the influence of the altered condition. It narrows down which differences are relevant and which are just accompanying noise. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-180 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 1-2 Tage | 45-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-6 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 1-4 | 2-6 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Fault Isolation Map, Test Log, Excluded Hypotheses, Narrowed Fault Area | Domain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternatives | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Change Matrix, Cause Hypotheses, Validation Questions, Action List |
Tagsno overlap | TroubleshootingDiagnosisEngineering | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | ChangeRoot causeTroubleshootingComparison |