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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 Problem Framing Workshop.
Facilitation
Problem Framing Workshop
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Stakeholder Mapping
Facilitation
Stakeholder Mapping
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 a team works on symptoms but the real question stays fuzzy, a Problem Framing Workshop sharpens the view of the right problem. It separates observation, interpretation, and target picture from each other.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.When an initiative depends on many people, interests, and power dynamics, Stakeholder Mapping systematically orders the environment. It shows who influences, who is affected, and where relationship management or safeguarding matters first.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowHighLow
Timedifferent
3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional60-120 minPreparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope60–90 min
Participantsdifferent
1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people4-10Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting2-8
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 checksProblem Statement, Scope Boundaries, Assumption List, Next Analysis QuestionsDomain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternativesStakeholder Map, Engagement Plan, Risk Notes
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
FacilitationAlignmentDiscovery
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
StakeholdersAlignmentFacilitationChange
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