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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 Concept Map with concepts and labelled links
Knowledge Modeling
Concept Mapping
Paper illustration for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Operations
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Paper fishbone diagram with a measurable effect at the head and six labeled cause branches.
Operations
Fishbone Diagram
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.Concept Mapping arranges terms and relationships in a network that makes subject-matter connections tangible. It fits when a topic needs to be understood structurally rather than linearly.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.When a problem has several possible contributing factors, the method sorts causes by cause areas. It prevents an initial hunch from blocking the view of other plausible drivers.
Complexitydifferent
HighMediumHighLow
Timedifferent
Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope1-2 h2-6 h30-60 min
Participantsdifferent
Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting1-83-102-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop
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 alternativesConcept Map, Relationship Labels, Knowledge GapsFMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation ActionsFishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
KnowledgeConceptsMappingSensemaking
RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause
Root causeQualityOperations
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