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Criterion
The Scrum Team inspects people, interactions, processes, tools, and the Definition of Done, then agrees on a few testable improvements.
Agile
Sprint Retrospective
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Four paper stations connect system purpose, quality goals, risk cards and focused investigation with a target and gap profile.
Architecture
LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)
Purposedifferent
When a sprint is over and friction shouldn't simply be carried forward, it opens the view onto collaboration and patterns. It creates space to see causes and changes together.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.LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail.
Complexitydifferent
LowHighMedium
Timedifferent
Up to 3 hours for a one-month Sprint; shorter Sprints are usually shorterSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional
Participantsdifferent
Scrum TeamEvaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Improvement actions, Team agreementsPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsLean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checks
Tagsno overlap
RetrospectiveImprovementLearning
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

A structured reflection surfaces what was liked, learned, lacked, and longed for. It is a conversation format and does not validate actions automatically.
Agile
4Ls Retrospective
Paper illustration of a review with planned work, actual event sequence, comparison, and assigned improvement actions.
Operations
After-Action Review
Architecture Communication Canvas method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Architecture Communication Canvas
Paper illustration for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Operations
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis