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Criterion
Paper illustration for Knowledge Mapping.
Knowledge Modeling
Knowledge Mapping
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Design sheets and interface cards connect to jointly written pseudocode with highlighted unresolved questions.
Architecture
ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
Paper illustration of a calm four-quadrant Assumption Map with hypothesis cards and emphasis on important assumptions with little evidence.
Product Discovery
Assumption Mapping
Purposedifferent
Knowledge Mapping makes knowledge, gaps, and transfer paths visible across a field. It fits when expertise should not just exist but also be findable and transferable.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.ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification.When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first.
Complexitydifferent
MediumHighMediumMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 hPreparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional45-60 min
Participantsdifferent
3-12Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weightingDesigners, developers as users, and facilitation2-8
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Knowledge Map, Critical Knowledge Areas, Transfer PlanDomain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternativesPrioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisionsAssumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking
Tagsno overlap
KnowledgeMappingRisk
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks
AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation
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