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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 Constraint Analysis.
Decision Making
Constraint Analysis
Paper illustration for Change 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.When an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped.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
HighLowMedium
Timedifferent
Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope30-90 min45-120 min
Participantsdifferent
Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting2-82-6
Formatsame
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + 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 alternativesConstraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision BoundariesChange Matrix, Cause Hypotheses, Validation Questions, Action List
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions
ChangeRoot causeTroubleshootingComparison
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Paper illustration for 8D Problem Solving.
Operations
8D Problem Solving
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Current Reality Tree
Systems Thinking
Current Reality Tree
Decision Tree method illustration showing its working structure
Decision Making
Decision Tree