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| Criterion |  Decision Making Force Field Analysis |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | In change initiatives, supporting and restraining forces sit at the table at the same time. Force Field Analysis makes these tensions explicit and shows where change can be pushed forward by strengthening or relieving. | With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects. | 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 |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 45-120 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 2-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Force Field Map, Change Levers, Risk Notes | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | 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 | ChangeDecisionStrategy | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality |
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