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Criterion
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment Mapping
Four paper stations connect system purpose, quality goals, risk cards and focused investigation with a target and gap profile.
Architecture
LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)
Stakeholder Mapping
Facilitation
Stakeholder Mapping
Purposedifferent
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 several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable.LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail.When an initiative depends on many people, interests, and power dynamics, Stakeholder Mapping systematically orders the environment. It shows who influences, who is affected, and where relationship management or safeguarding matters first.
Complexitydifferent
HighMediumMediumLow
Timedifferent
Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope1-2 h3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional60–90 min
Participantsdifferent
Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting4-121 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people2-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
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 alternativesAlignment Map, Open Issues, Decision QuestionsLean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checksStakeholder Map, Engagement Plan, Risk Notes
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
StakeholdersAlignmentFacilitationChange
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