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Criterion
Paper illustration of Request for Comments (RFC) with its method-specific working model.
Architecture
Request for Comments
Paper illustration for Change Analysis.
Operations
Change Analysis
Paper illustration of Decision Rights Mapping with its method-specific working model.
Decision Making
Decision Rights Mapping
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
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 deviation after a change, the method isolates the influence of the altered condition. It narrows down which differences are relevant and which are just accompanying noise.In organizations with many stakeholders, it often blurs who actually decides and who is merely consulted. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Decision Rights matrix and an agreement.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
MediumMediumMediumHigh
Timedifferent
1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung45-120 min90-180 minPreparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope
Participantsdifferent
3-20 Reviewer2-64-12Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting
Formatdifferent
AsyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or ticketsChange Matrix, Cause Hypotheses, Validation Questions, Action ListDecision Rights Matrix, AgreementDomain 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
ChangeRoot causeTroubleshootingComparison
DecisionGovernanceAlignmentResponsibility
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
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