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| Criterion |  Architecture Request for Comments |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | 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. | For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung | 1-4 h | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-20 Reviewer | 3-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | 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 | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |