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Selected:Fishbone DiagramLASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)Value Chain AnalysisSAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
| Criterion |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Architecture LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews) |  Business Strategy Value Chain Analysis |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture 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. | LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail. | Value Chain Analysis shows where value is created, costs accrue, and differentiation becomes possible along the process. It compares strengths, risks, market logic, and courses of action. The result is captured as a value-chain map and lever list. | SAAM helps teams judge an architecture’s suitability for selected tasks and changes. It is particularly useful for examining modifiability and comparing architecture alternatives with clear reasoning. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | High | High |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | 3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional | Half day | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people | 3-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | Lean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checks | Value Chain Map, Lever List | Domain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternatives |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeQualityOperations | ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean | StrategyBusiness modelDiagnosisAnalysis | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality |