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Criterion
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for TRIZ
Innovation
TRIZ
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Contradiction Analysis.
Innovation
Contradiction 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 technical contradictions or trade-offs, the method looks for solutions that resolve opposing requirements at the same time. It translates limits into an explicit picture of conflict that becomes workable. This produces not just compromises but more elegant principles.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.When a system should improve while another measure suffers as a result, the method makes the underlying conflict precisely formulable. It separates the desired effect from its side effect. This makes solutions possible that address the contradiction deliberately instead of half-heartedly.
Complexitydifferent
HighHighHighMedium
Timedifferent
Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope1-4 hSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope60-120 min
Participantsdifferent
Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting2-8Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders2-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
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 alternativesContradiction Statement, Inventive Principles, Solution ConceptsPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsContradiction Statement, Abstraction Notes, Solution Principles, Concept Ideas
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
InnovationProblem solvingContradictionsCreativity
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
ContradictionsInnovationProblem solving
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