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Criterion
Paper illustration of the McKinsey 7S Framework with seven connected fields
Business Strategy
McKinsey 7S
Paper illustration of Product Vision Board with its method-specific working model.
Product Strategy
Product Vision Board
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Software Architecture Canvas method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Software Architecture Canvas
Purposedifferent
McKinsey 7S checks whether Strategy, Structure, Systems, Shared Values, Skills, Style, and Staff fit together. Organizational misalignments become visible across multiple levers as a result.When a product needs a shared direction, it connects target audience, benefit, and business picture in a clear vision. It makes the envisioned future legible for the team.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 Software Architecture Canvas reduces a system to the most important architecture decisions, constraints, and interfaces. It is useful when teams need a resilient overall picture quickly.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowHighLow
Timedifferent
2-4 h1-2 hPreparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope1-2 h
Participantsdifferent
3-122-8Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting3-10
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
7S Assessment, Alignment Gaps, Change ActionsProduct Vision Board, Vision Statement, Assumptions and Validation 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 alternativesArchitecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality Attributes
Tagsno overlap
OrganizationStrategyAlignmentChange
VisionCanvasStrategyAlignment
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop
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