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| Criterion |  Architecture Request for Comments |  Decision Making Risk Matrix |  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. | When a project faces many possible disruptions, it quickly becomes unclear which risks deserve attention first. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Risk Matrix and a Top Risk List. | 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 | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 30-60 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope |
Participantsdifferent | 3-20 Reviewer | 3-10 | 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 | Risk Matrix, Top Risk List | 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 | RiskDecisionPrioritizationAssessment | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality |
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