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| Criterion |  Innovation How Might We |  Operations Change Analysis |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | With a stuck problem carrying many implicit assumptions, the method translates observations into open, workable questions. It sharpens the problem frame without pre-thinking the solution, turning frustration or fuzziness into a search space with clear direction. | For a deviation after a change, the method isolates the influence of the altered condition. It narrows down which differences are relevant and which are just accompanying noise. | 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 | Low | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 30–45 min | 45-120 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-10 | 2-6 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | HMW Questions, Challenge Framing, Idea Prompts | Change Matrix, Cause Hypotheses, Validation Questions, Action List | 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 | FramingOpportunityIdeationQuestions | ChangeRoot causeTroubleshootingComparison | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | Root causeQualityOperations |