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Selected:Smoke TestSAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)A/B TestingATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
| Criterion |  Product Discovery Smoke Test |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Growth A/B Testing |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When demand only needs to be roughly verified, it tests interest with minimal effort. It measures whether people would take a next step at all. | 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 two variants compete, discussions quickly decide by taste rather than effect. A/B Testing checks behavior under controlled conditions and separates real improvement from chance or expectation effects. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | High | High |
Timedifferent | 1-5 Tage | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 1-4 Wochen | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope |
Participantsdifferent | Nutzertraffic | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 1-6 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders |
Formatdifferent | Async | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Interest Metrics, Conversion Signal, Learning Note | 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 | Experiment results, Decision log, Learning summary | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations |
Tagsno overlap | ValidationExperimentsDemandGrowth | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | ExperimentsGrowthAnalyticsValidation | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders |