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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 calm four-quadrant Assumption Map with hypothesis cards and emphasis on important assumptions with little evidence.
Product Discovery
Assumption Mapping
Paper illustration for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Operations
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Paper illustration for Change Analysis.
Operations
Change Analysis
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 assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first.For a process, product, or service with noticeable failure risks, the method assesses possible failure modes in advance. It directs attention to combinations of occurrence, effect, and detectability.For a deviation after a change, the method isolates the influence of the altered condition. It narrows down which differences are relevant and which are just accompanying noise.
Complexitydifferent
HighMediumHighMedium
Timedifferent
Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope45-60 min2-6 h45-120 min
Participantsdifferent
Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting2-83-102-6
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 alternativesAssumption map, Test backlog, Risk rankingFMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation ActionsChange Matrix, Cause Hypotheses, Validation Questions, Action List
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation
RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause
ChangeRoot causeTroubleshootingComparison
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