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Criterion
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration of Power-Interest Grid with a method-specific labelled workspace.
Facilitation
Power Interest Grid
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.ATAM helps teams weigh architecture decisions when quality goals compete. The team considers business goals, stakeholder expectations, and technical decisions together. The evaluation shows which risks need further investigation.When many stakeholders compete for attention at once, the Power Interest Grid sorts them by influence and stake. It turns individual contributions into a visible selection. The result is captured as a Power Interest Grid and a stakeholder-specific strategy.
Complexitydifferent
HighHighLow
Timedifferent
Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scopeSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope30-60 min
Participantsdifferent
Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weightingEvaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders2-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
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 alternativesPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsPower Interest Grid, Strategy per Stakeholder
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
StakeholdersFacilitationAlignmentPlanning
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Stakeholder Mapping
Facilitation
Stakeholder Mapping
Paper illustration for 3-Circle Venn Diagram
Facilitation
3-Circle Venn Diagram
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment Mapping
Four paper stations connect system purpose, quality goals, risk cards and focused investigation with a target and gap profile.
Architecture
LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)