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| Criterion |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Decision Matrix |  Architecture Request for Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
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 several options collide with several criteria, comparison quickly becomes subjective. A Decision Matrix makes the trade-off visible and brings weighting, criteria, and options into a shared logic. | An RFC clarifies architecture context, options, and consequences. It structures technical context, alternatives, tradeoffs, open questions, and review feedback, and captures the result as an RFC document, reviewer comments, and a decision rationale. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 45-90 min | 1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung |
Participantsdifferent | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-8 | 3-20 Reviewer |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | 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 alternatives | Decision Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected Option | RFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or tickets |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs | ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance |
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