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Selected:Root Cause Tree AnalysisSmoke TestSAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)Root Cause Analysis
| Criterion |  Operations Root Cause Tree Analysis |  Product Discovery Smoke Test |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | For a problem with several suspected causes, the method builds a causal structure instead of a mere list. It makes visible how causes connect and where the strongest points of leverage lie. | When demand only needs to be roughly verified, it tests interest with minimal effort. It measures whether people would take a next step at all. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 1-5 Tage | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Nutzertraffic | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Cause Tree, Evidence Notes, Countermeasures | Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning Note | 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 | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Root causeTreeIncidentQuality | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |