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Criterion
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Operations
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
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.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.For a process, product, or service with noticeable failure risks, the method assesses possible failure modes in advance. It directs attention to combinations of occurrence, effect, and detectability.
Complexitydifferent
LowHighHigh
Timedifferent
20–45 minSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope2-6 h
Participantsdifferent
Small cross-functional groupEvaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders3-10
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsFMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions
Tags1 shared
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper fishbone diagram with a measurable effect at the head and six labeled cause branches.
Operations
Fishbone Diagram
Paper illustration for Kepner-Tregoe
Operations
Kepner-Tregoe
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 8D Problem Solving.
Operations
8D Problem Solving