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Criterion
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Paper illustration of a two-by-two Ansoff Matrix with four growth directions
Business Strategy
Ansoff Matrix
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment 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.The Ansoff Matrix organizes growth options by market and product relation. It helps weigh expansion, diversification, and adaptation cleanly against each other.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.
Complexitydifferent
HighLowMedium
Timedifferent
Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope45-90 min1-2 h
Participantsdifferent
Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting2-84-12
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
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 alternativesAnsoff Matrix, Growth Options, Risk NotesAlignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
GrowthStrategyMarketPortfolio
AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Stakeholder Mapping
Facilitation
Stakeholder Mapping
Paper illustration for 3-Circle Venn Diagram
Facilitation
3-Circle Venn Diagram
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration of the McKinsey 7S Framework with seven connected fields
Business Strategy
McKinsey 7S