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Selected:SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)Argument MappingRoot Cause AnalysisKepner-Tregoe
| Criterion |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Argument Mapping |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 statements, evidence, and counterarguments get mixed up, a debate quickly loses its structure. Argument Mapping breaks a thesis down into its reasoning and makes visible what it really rests on. | 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. | For a disturbance that's hard to pin down, the method cleanly separates problem, cause, and decision. It reduces mixing when symptoms allow several interpretations. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 1-3 h | 1-4 h | 2-8 h |
Participantsdifferent | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 1-8 | 3-8 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + 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 alternatives | Argument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision Rationale | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | SensemakingDecisionRationale | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations |