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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 Cynefin Workshop.
Decision Making
Cynefin Workshop
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Red Teaming method illustration showing its working structure
Decision Making
Red Teaming
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 problems are unclear, chaotic, or only seemingly familiar, standard recipes fall short. A Cynefin Workshop sorts situations by the nature of their problem and connects them with matching action logic.ATAM helps teams weigh architecture decisions when quality goals compete. The team considers business goals, stakeholder expectations, and technical decisions together. The evaluation shows which risks need further investigation.For strategic decisions with high reach, agreement and gut feeling are often not enough. Red teaming brings deliberate opposition into the situation and tests where a plan breaks under real counterarguments.
Complexitydifferent
HighMediumHighHigh
Timedifferent
Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope60-180 minSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope1-4 h
Participantsdifferent
Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting4-20Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders3-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
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 alternativesCynefin Map, Domain-specific Actions, Sensemaking NotesPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsChallenge Findings, Risk Register, Mitigation Plan
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
ComplexitySensemakingDecision
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
RiskDecisionSensemaking
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