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Selected:PDCA CycleSAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Assumption Mapping
| Criterion |  Operations PDCA Cycle |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For an improvement that still has to prove itself in everyday work, the method runs it through small learning loops. It connects planning, checking, and standardization into a repeatable learning mode. | 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. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. | When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1 h bis mehrere Wochen | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 45-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | PDCA Log, Experiment Plan, Learning Outcome, Standard Change | Domain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternatives | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking |
Tagsno overlap | Continuous improvementLeanExperiments | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation |