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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Future Reality Tree |  Architecture Views and Beyond |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Architecture arc42 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | A Future Reality Tree shows how desired actions are meant to lead to a better system state. The method checks whether a path of change holds together logically before time flows into implementation. | Views and Beyond organizes architecture into several views so no single diagram has to do everything at once. This makes it possible to choose the representation that fits the stakeholder's 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. | arc42 structures architecture knowledge so teams can document system, decisions, and risks consistently. The template builds a living understanding of the architecture instead of scattered notes. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 2-4 h | 1-3 Tage | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 1-2 Tage |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 1-4 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 1-4 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Future Reality Tree, Negative Branches, Assumption List, Improved Injections | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale | 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 | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View |
Tagsno overlap | Theory of ConstraintsSystems thinkingChange | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication |