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Criterion
Paper illustration of a branching impact map with a Why goal at the root, actor circles, How behavior changes and What options.
Product Strategy
Impact Mapping
A paper-based illustration representing arc42 with its core stages and visible working result.
Architecture
arc42
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Purposedifferent
When a goal needs to be connected to several possible paths, it shows chains of impact instead of feature lists. It connects business goal, behavior change, and measures.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.In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures.ATAM helps teams weigh architecture decisions when quality goals compete. The team considers business goals, stakeholder expectations, and technical decisions together. The evaluation shows which risks need further investigation.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowLowHigh
Timedifferent
45-90 min1-2 Tage20–45 minSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope
Participantsdifferent
3-81-4Small cross-functional groupEvaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Impact Map, Outcome Hypotheses, Delivery OptionsArchitecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment ViewRisk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations
Tagsno overlap
OutcomesStrategyBehaviorPlanning
ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
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