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| Criterion |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Architecture arc42 |  Decision Making Decision Matrix |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures. | arc42 structures architecture knowledge so teams can document system, decisions, and risks consistently. The template builds a living understanding of the architecture instead of scattered notes. | When several options collide with several criteria, comparison quickly becomes subjective. A Decision Matrix makes the trade-off visible and brings weighting, criteria, and options into a shared logic. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 20–45 min | 1-2 Tage | 45-90 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope |
Participantsdifferent | Small cross-functional group | 1-4 | 2-8 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View | Decision Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected Option | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations |
Tagsno overlap | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication | DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders |