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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 a yellow story card, blue rule cards, green example cards and a red question card on a light workspace.
Agile
Example Mapping
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Operations
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
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.When a story carries business rules and exceptions, it brings clarity before implementation. It makes examples, open questions, and boundaries visible enough that the logic becomes jointly sound.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.For a process, product, or service with noticeable failure risks, the method assesses possible failure modes in advance. It directs attention to combinations of occurrence, effect, and detectability.
Complexitydifferent
LowLowHighHigh
Timedifferent
30-60 min30-60 minSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope2-6 h
Participantsdifferent
2-83-7Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders3-10
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation BacklogExample Map, Acceptance Criteria, Open QuestionsPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsFMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions
Tagsno overlap
Root causeQualityOperations
Behavior-Driven DevelopmentRequirementsExamplesRefinement
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause
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