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Criterion
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
A paper-based illustration representing arc42 with its core stages and visible working result.
Architecture
arc42
Software Architecture Canvas method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Software Architecture Canvas
Paper illustration for 3-Circle Venn Diagram
Facilitation
3-Circle Venn Diagram
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.arc42 structures architecture knowledge so teams can document system, decisions, and risks consistently. The template builds a living understanding of the architecture instead of scattered notes.The Software Architecture Canvas reduces a system to the most important architecture decisions, constraints, and interfaces. It is useful when teams need a resilient overall picture quickly.When three perspectives matter at the same time, a Three-Circle Venn Diagram shows the overlaps and remainders precisely. It makes visible where shared effect arises and where only a partial perspective applies.
Complexitydifferent
HighLowLowLow
Timedifferent
Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope1-2 Tage1-2 h15-45 min
Participantsdifferent
Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting1-43-102-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + 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 alternativesArchitecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment ViewArchitecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality AttributesVenn Diagram, Overlap Notes, Differentiators
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication
CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop
ComparisonFacilitationAlignment
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