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Selected:GAP AnalysisSAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Force Field Analysis
| Criterion |  Business Strategy GAP Analysis |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Decision Making Force Field Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | GAP Analysis compares the current state with a target picture and makes the distance manageable. It becomes useful when, ahead of new initiatives, it must become clear which capabilities, processes, or resources are missing. | 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. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 3-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Gap Matrix, Action Plan, Risk Notes | 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 | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Force Field Map, Change Levers, Risk Notes |
Tagsno overlap | StrategyAnalysisPlanning | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | ChangeDecisionStrategy |