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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Futures Wheel |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Systems Thinking Current Reality Tree |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | The Futures Wheel helps explore the consequences of a decision, a trend, or a strategic move in a structured way. It makes visible which first, second, and third-order effects could arise from an event. | 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. | A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | High |
Timedifferent | 60-120 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 2-6 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Futures Wheel, Consequence Chains, Strategic Signals | 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 | Current Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention Ideas |
Tagsno overlap | ForesightSystems thinkingSignals | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality |
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