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| Criterion |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Decision Tree |  Decision Making Decision Matrix |  Decision Making Trade-off 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. | For decisions with follow-on paths and dependencies, a linear comparison is often not enough. A Decision Tree shows how options branch under conditions and which consequences hang on each branch. | 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. | With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 30-90 min | 45-90 min | 45-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 1-6 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + 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 Tree, Option Map, Assumption List | Decision Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected Option | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | DecisionTreeOptions | DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions |