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Selected:Failure Mode and Effects AnalysisOption FramingSAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)Fishbone Diagram
| Criterion |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects Analysis |  Decision Making Option Framing |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | In early decisions, alternatives are often still vague, incomplete, or blended together. Option Framing brings every possibility into a comparable form and makes visible which variant actually fits the question. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-6 h | 45-120 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 3-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Option Frames, Assumption Notes, Comparable Shortlist, Decision Inputs | 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 | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | OptionsDecision framingStrategyComparison | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | Root causeQualityOperations |