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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
Stakeholder Mapping
Facilitation
Stakeholder Mapping
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.When an initiative depends on many people, interests, and power dynamics, Stakeholder Mapping systematically orders the environment. It shows who influences, who is affected, and where relationship management or safeguarding matters first.
Complexitydifferent
HighLowLow
Timedifferent
Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope30-90 min60–90 min
Participantsdifferent
Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting2-82-8
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 BoundariesStakeholder Map, Engagement Plan, Risk Notes
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions
StakeholdersAlignmentFacilitationChange
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration of Power-Interest Grid with a method-specific labelled workspace.
Facilitation
Power Interest Grid
Paper illustration for 3-Circle Venn Diagram
Facilitation
3-Circle Venn Diagram
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment Mapping
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)