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Selected:Kepner-TregoeFishbone DiagramSAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)Root Cause Analysis
| Criterion |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |  Operations Fishbone Diagram |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For a disturbance that's hard to pin down, the method cleanly separates problem, cause, and decision. It reduces mixing when symptoms allow several interpretations. | 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. | 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 keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 2-8 h | 30-60 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog | 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 | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations | Root causeQualityOperations | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |