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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 of Competency Questions with its method-specific working model.
Knowledge Modeling
Competency Questions
Paper illustration for Fault Tree Analysis.
Operations
Fault Tree Analysis
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
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.Competency Questions translate a domain model into concrete questions that it must be able to answer. The method keeps the model's scope clean and prevents pretty but useless structures.For a critical top event with several possible triggers, the method logically models failure paths. It makes visible which combinations of conditions can lead to damage.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.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumHighHigh
Timedifferent
30-60 min2-4 h2-6 hSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope
Participantsdifferent
2-82-83-8Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation BacklogCompetency Question Set, Required Concepts, Test Queries, Coverage MatrixFault Tree, Critical Paths, Cause Hypotheses, Control ActionsPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations
Tagsno overlap
Root causeQualityOperations
OntologyKnowledge graphScopeRequirementsSemantic
RiskRoot causeSafety
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
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