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Criterion
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Communication Plan
Delivery
Communication Plan
Views and Beyond method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Views and Beyond
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record
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 many people need to be informed in parallel and messages would otherwise arrive unevenly or too late, a Communication Plan orders communication reliably. Channels, audiences, and cadences interlock so important information doesn't get lost.Views and Beyond organizes architecture into several views so no single diagram has to do everything at once. This makes it possible to choose the representation that fits the stakeholder's question.An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable.
Complexitydifferent
HighLowMediumLow
Timedifferent
Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope45-90 min1-3 Tage15-45 min
Participantsdifferent
Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting2-61-41-3
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncAsync
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 alternativesCommunication Plan, Channel Matrix, Message CadenceArchitecture Views, Cross-view Notes, RationaleADR File, Decision Log, Rationale
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
CommunicationStakeholdersDeliveryPlanning
DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture
ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance
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