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Criterion
Paper illustration for Fault Isolation.
Engineering
Fault Isolation
Stakeholder Mapping
Facilitation
Stakeholder Mapping
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment Mapping
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.When an initiative depends on many people, interests, and power dynamics, Stakeholder Mapping systematically orders the environment. It shows who influences, who is affected, and where relationship management or safeguarding matters first.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 several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowHighMedium
Timedifferent
30-180 min60–90 minSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope1-2 h
Participantsdifferent
1-62-8Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders4-12
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Fault Isolation Map, Test Log, Excluded Hypotheses, Narrowed Fault AreaStakeholder Map, Engagement Plan, Risk NotesPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsAlignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions
Tagsno overlap
TroubleshootingDiagnosisEngineering
StakeholdersAlignmentFacilitationChange
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation
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