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| Criterion |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Business Strategy GAP Analysis |  Product Strategy GIST Planning |  Product Strategy Counter Metrics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | GAP Analysis compares the current state with a target picture and makes the distance manageable. It becomes useful when, ahead of new initiatives, it must become clear which capabilities, processes, or resources are missing. | GIST Planning helps clarify target groups, value, goals, and priorities. It links customer value, product logic, and decision priorities, and captures the result as goals, an idea bank, and a step-project list. | When a headline metric could mask side effects, it adds guardrail signals against unwanted outcomes. It connects customer value, product logic, and decision priorities. The result is captured as a counter-metric list and guardrail definitions. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 1-3 h | Wochen bis Monate je Goal | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-8 | 3-10 | 2-6 |
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 | Gap Matrix, Action Plan, Risk Notes | Goals, Idea bank, Step-project list, Tasks, Learning reports | Counter Metric List, Guardrail Definitions |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | StrategyAnalysisPlanning | RoadmapOutcomesPlanningExperiments | MetricsMeasurementStrategyExperiments |