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| Criterion |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Risk Matrix |  Decision Making Decision Matrix |  Product Strategy ICE Scoring |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 a project faces many possible disruptions, it quickly becomes unclear which risks deserve attention first. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Risk Matrix and a Top Risk List. | 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. | When ideas need sorting quickly, it condenses impact, confidence, and effort into one compact score. It connects customer value, product logic, and decision priorities. The result is captured as an ICE table and top-ideas list. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Low | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 30-60 min | 45-90 min | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 3-10 | 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 | Risk Matrix, Top Risk List | Decision Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected Option | ICE Table, Top Idea List |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | RiskDecisionPrioritizationAssessment | DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs | PrioritizationScoringGrowthDecision |