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| Criterion |  Architecture Request for Comments |  Operations A3 Problem Solving |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | An RFC clarifies architecture context, options, and consequences. It structures technical context, alternatives, tradeoffs, open questions, and review feedback, and captures the result as an RFC document, reviewer comments, and a decision rationale. | For a complex deviation with several people involved, the method bundles problem, analysis, and decision onto one page. It creates a shared working space where causes, countermeasures, and follow-up fit together. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 45-90 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope |
Participantsdifferent | 3-20 Reviewer | 2-5 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | A3 Report, Action Plan, Root Cause Analysis | 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 |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | LeanProblem solvingCoachingOperations | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality |
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.
