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| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Innovation Brainstorming |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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 team faces an open question with many obvious directions, the method first creates breadth instead of premature commitment. It separates idea flow from evaluation and makes lines of thought visible, creating a pool for selection and further development. | 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 | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 30-60 min | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 4-12 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Idea pool, Theme clusters, Shortlist | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | BrainstormingIdeationCreativityWorkshopDivergence | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |