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Selected:Leverage PointsViews and BeyondATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)Alignment Mapping
| Criterion | ![]() Systems Thinking Leverage Points | ![]() Architecture Views and Beyond | ![]() Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) | ![]() Facilitation Alignment Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | Leverage Points show exactly where interventions in a system produce a disproportionate effect. It draws relationships, patterns, and feedback loops. The result is captured as a leverage map and action strategy. | Views and Beyond organizes architecture into several views so no single diagram has to do everything at once. This makes it possible to choose the representation that fits the stakeholder's question. | 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 several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | Half day | 1-3 Tage | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 1-4 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Leverage Map, Action Strategy | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingChangeStrategy | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation |



