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Selected:Pre-MortemSAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)Assumption MappingLASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)
| Criterion |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |  Architecture LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. | LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20–45 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 45-60 min | 3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional |
Participantsdifferent | Small cross-functional group | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-8 | 1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | 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 | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking | Lean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checks |
Tagsno overlap | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation | ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean |