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Selected:SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)Constraint AnalysisKepner-TregoeFishbone Diagram
| Criterion |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Operations Kepner-Tregoe |  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. | 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 disturbance that's hard to pin down, the method cleanly separates problem, cause, and decision. It reduces mixing when symptoms allow several interpretations. | 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 | High | Low | High | Low |
Timedifferent | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 30-90 min | 2-8 h | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-8 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
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 | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Risk Plan | Fishbone Diagram, Cause Categories, Investigation Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | Problem solvingRoot causeDecisionOperations | Root causeQualityOperations |