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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: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration of a four-column Kanban board with limited ongoing work, a visible blocker and a review loop.
Engineering
Kanban
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.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.When work sits in too many parallel streams, throughput suffers and no one sees the bottlenecks. Kanban makes the flow of work visible and limits overload so a system becomes calmer and more predictable.
Complexitydifferent
MediumHighMedium
Timedifferent
3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additionalSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scopeOngoing
Participantsdifferent
1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 peopleEvaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders2-12
Formatsame
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
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 checksPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsKanban board, WIP policies, Flow metrics
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
FlowVisual managementDelivery
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Value Stream Mapping workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Delivery
Value Stream Mapping
Architecture Communication Canvas method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Architecture Communication Canvas
Paper illustration for Communication Plan
Delivery
Communication Plan
Paper illustration for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Operations
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis