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Criterion
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Paper illustration of a participant using a prototype while an observer takes notes beside a highlighted usability issue.
UX Research
Usability Testing
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 product is built but people get stuck on tasks, usability testing shows the friction at concrete points. Observed use instead of self-report makes visible where orientation, understanding, or interaction breaks down.
Complexitydifferent
HighMedium
Timedifferent
Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope1-2 h je Session
Participantsdifferent
Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weightingBased on research question
Formatsame
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + 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 alternativesUsability Issues, Severity List, Recommendations
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
ValidationUXPrototype
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Design sheets and interface cards connect to jointly written pseudocode with highlighted unresolved questions.
Architecture
ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Change Analysis.
Operations
Change Analysis
A paper-based illustration representing Design Sprint with its core stages and visible working result.
Innovation
Design Sprint