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Selected:SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Behavior Over Time GraphCausal Loop Diagram
| Criterion |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Systems Thinking Behavior Over Time Graph |  Systems Thinking Causal Loop 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. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. | A Behavior Over Time Graph shows how a metric or observation develops over time. The method makes trends, breaks, and recurring patterns visible that get lost in snapshots. | A Causal Loop Diagram makes feedback, reinforcement, and balance in a system legible. It uncovers side effects and self-reinforcement that stay hidden in linear explanations. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 20-45 min | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 1-10 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
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 | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Behavior Over Time Graph, Trend Hypotheses, Key Events | Causal Loop Diagram, Feedback Notes, Leverage Points |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | Systems thinkingPatternsDynamics | FeedbackSystems thinkingCausalityDynamics |