View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
| Criterion |  Product Strategy ICE Scoring |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Decision Making Risk Matrix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When ideas need sorting quickly, it condenses impact, confidence, and effort into one compact score. It connects customer value, product logic, and decision priorities. The result is captured as an ICE table and top-ideas list. | 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. | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | When a project faces many possible disruptions, it quickly becomes unclear which risks deserve attention first. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Risk Matrix and a Top Risk List. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 45-90 min | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-8 | 3-10 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | ICE Table, Top Idea 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 | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Risk Matrix, Top Risk List |
Tagsno overlap | PrioritizationScoringGrowthDecision | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | RiskDecisionPrioritizationAssessment |