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Selected:SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)Eisenhower MatrixATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
| Criterion |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Eisenhower Matrix |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | It separates true priorities from noise so it becomes clear what should be done now, scheduled, delegated, or dropped. | 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. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 15-30 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional |
Participantsdifferent | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 1-6 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation |
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 | Eisenhower Matrix, Action List, Delegation Notes | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | PrioritizationFocusTasks | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks |