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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 for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Operations
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Paper illustration of a journey map with four connected phases, several experience lanes and a point marked for closer investigation.
UX Research
Customer Journey Mapping
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.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.When a user journey falls apart across many touchpoints, customer journey mapping makes the experience visible as a coherent arc. Phases, emotions, and breaks become legible enough to prioritize critical moments deliberately.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
LowHighMediumHigh
Timedifferent
30-60 min2-6 h2-4 hSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope
Participantsdifferent
2-83-104-10Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshopWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation BacklogFMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation ActionsJourney Map, Pain-point List, Opportunity BacklogPrioritized 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
RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause
JourneyServiceService design
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
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