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Criterion
Paper fishbone diagram with a measurable effect at the head and six labeled cause branches.
Operations
Fishbone Diagram
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration of Power-Interest Grid with a method-specific labelled workspace.
Facilitation
Power Interest Grid
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment Mapping
Purposedifferent
When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers.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 stakeholders compete for attention at once, the Power Interest Grid sorts them by influence and stake. It turns individual contributions into a visible selection. The result is captured as a Power Interest Grid and a stakeholder-specific strategy.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
LowHighLowMedium
Timedifferent
30-60 minSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope30-60 min1-2 h
Participantsdifferent
2-8Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders2-84-12
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation BacklogPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsPower Interest Grid, Strategy per StakeholderAlignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions
Tagsno overlap
Root causeQualityOperations
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
StakeholdersFacilitationAlignmentPlanning
AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation
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