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Selected:SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)Assumption SurfacingFailure Mode and Effects AnalysisChange Analysis
| Criterion |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Operations Failure Mode and Effects 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. | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | 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 | High | Low | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 45-90 min | 2-6 h | 45-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-8 | 3-10 | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | 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 | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | FMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions | Change Matrix, Cause Hypotheses, Validation Questions, Action List |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause | ChangeRoot causeTroubleshootingComparison |