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Criterion
Rich Picture workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Systems Thinking
Rich Picture
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper fishbone diagram with a measurable effect at the head and six labeled cause branches.
Operations
Fishbone Diagram
Paper illustration for CATWOE Analysis.
Systems Thinking
CATWOE Analysis
Purposedifferent
A Rich Picture brings an unclear situation onto a shared drawing. It captures actors, tensions, information flows, and blind spots before the team jumps to solutions too early.ATAM helps teams weigh architecture decisions when quality goals compete. The team considers business goals, stakeholder expectations, and technical decisions together. The evaluation shows which risks need further investigation.When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers.CATWOE structures a problem from six viewpoints and prevents too narrow a view of the situation. Different experiences of the system become comparably discussable this way.
Complexitydifferent
LowHighLowMedium
Timedifferent
30-90 minSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope30-60 min45-90 min
Participantsdifferent
2-10Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders2-83-8
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Rich Picture, Problem Framing NotesPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsFishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation BacklogCATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints
Tagsno overlap
Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
Root causeQualityOperations
Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders
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