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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 Future Reality Tree.
Systems Thinking
Future Reality Tree
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Evaporating Cloud.
Systems Thinking
Evaporating Cloud
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.A Future Reality Tree shows how desired actions are meant to lead to a better system state. The method checks whether a path of change holds together logically before time flows into implementation.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.The method makes visible why two seemingly incompatible demands arise and which assumption must be tested to resolve the conflict.
Complexitydifferent
MediumHighHighMedium
Timedifferent
3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional2-4 hPreparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope60-120 min
Participantsdifferent
1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people3-8Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting2-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + 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 checksFuture Reality Tree, Negative Branches, Assumption List, Improved InjectionsDomain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternativesConflict Cloud, Assumption List, Breakthrough Ideas, Next Experiments
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
Theory of ConstraintsSystems thinkingChange
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
Theory of ConstraintsAssumptionsSystems thinking
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