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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 Current Reality Tree
Systems Thinking
Current Reality Tree
Paper illustration of System Dynamics Simulation with its method-specific working model.
Systems Thinking
System Dynamics Simulation
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.A Current Reality Tree condenses many symptoms into a few causal chains. The method makes visible which core problems drive several negative effects at once.System Dynamics Simulation makes assumptions about time, delay, and feedback testable through experiments. It draws relationships, patterns, and feedback loops. The result is captured as a simulation model and scenario reports.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
HighHighHighMedium
Timedifferent
Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope2-6 hMehrere Tage bis Wochen45-120 min
Participantsdifferent
Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting3-81-5 Modellierende, Stakeholder asynchron2-6
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopAsyncWorkshop + 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 alternativesCurrent Reality Tree, Core Problems, Intervention IdeasSimulation Model, Scenario ReportsChange Matrix, Cause Hypotheses, Validation Questions, Action List
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
Systems thinkingRoot causeConstraintsCausality
Systems thinkingDynamicsSimulationAnalysis
ChangeRoot causeTroubleshootingComparison
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