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Selected:SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)Trade-off AnalysisDecision MatrixChange Analysis
| Criterion |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |  Decision Making Decision Matrix |  Operations Change 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. | 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. | 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. | For a deviation after a change, the method isolates the influence of the altered condition. It narrows down which differences are relevant and which are just accompanying noise. |
Complexitydifferent | High | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 45-120 min | 45-90 min | 45-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-8 | 2-8 | 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 | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides | Decision Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected Option | Change Matrix, Cause Hypotheses, Validation Questions, Action List |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions | DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs | ChangeRoot causeTroubleshootingComparison |