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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 Dot Estimation.
Facilitation
Dot Estimation
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Ideal Days.
Agile
Ideal Days
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 size or effort can only be estimated roughly, Dot Estimation condenses the group's experience into a quick range. It turns individual contributions into a visible selection. The result is captured as an Effort Heatmap, Risk Signals, and Discussion Targets.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 effort needs to be thought of as real working time, it offers a simple common denominator for comparison. It sorts work by value, risk, and delivery ability. The result is captured as Ideal Day Estimates, Assumption Notes, and Capacity Caveats.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowHighLow
Timedifferent
3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional5-20 minSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope15-60 min
Participantsdifferent
1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people3-20Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders2-9
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + 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 checksEffort Heatmap, Risk Signals, Discussion TargetsPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsIdeal Day Estimates, Assumption Notes, Capacity Caveats
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
EstimationEffortRisk
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
EstimationEffortAgile
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