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Selected:Impact MappingATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)Assumption SurfacingAlignment Mapping
| Criterion |  Product Strategy Impact Mapping |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | 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 several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 45-90 min | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 2-8 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Impact Map, Outcome Hypotheses, Delivery Options | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | OutcomesStrategyBehaviorPlanning | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |