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| Criterion |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Operations Change Analysis |  UX Research Card Sorting |
|---|---|---|---|
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. | 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. | When content only makes sense internally and users can't find the structure again, card sorting exposes their mental order. Terms, groups, and naming are then aligned with the target group's expectations. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 45-120 min | 20-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-6 | Based on research question |
Formatsame | 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 | Change Matrix, Cause Hypotheses, Validation Questions, Action List | Content groups, Label set, IA hypotheses |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | ChangeRoot causeTroubleshootingComparison | Information architectureNavigationStructure |
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.
