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Criterion
Four paper stations connect system purpose, quality goals, risk cards and focused investigation with a target and gap profile.
Architecture
LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)
Paper illustration for Argument Mapping
Decision Making
Argument Mapping
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Red Teaming method illustration showing its working structure
Decision Making
Red Teaming
Purposedifferent
LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail.When statements, evidence, and counterarguments get mixed up, a debate quickly loses its structure. Argument Mapping breaks a thesis down into its reasoning and makes visible what it really rests on.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.For strategic decisions with high reach, agreement and gut feeling are often not enough. Red teaming brings deliberate opposition into the situation and tests where a plan breaks under real counterarguments.
Complexitydifferent
MediumMediumHighHigh
Timedifferent
3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional1-3 hSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope1-4 h
Participantsdifferent
1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people1-8Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders3-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Lean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checksArgument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision RationalePrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsChallenge Findings, Risk Register, Mitigation Plan
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
SensemakingDecisionRationale
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
RiskDecisionSensemaking
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