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| Criterion |  Business Strategy SWOT Analysis |  Business Strategy GAP Analysis |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Business Strategy Ansoff Matrix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | SWOT Analysis arranges strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats into a compact picture of the situation. It keeps internal capabilities and external influences separate before strategic options emerge from them. | GAP Analysis compares the current state with a target picture and makes the distance manageable. It becomes useful when, ahead of new initiatives, it must become clear which capabilities, processes, or resources are missing. | 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. | The Ansoff Matrix organizes growth options by market and product relation. It helps weigh expansion, diversification, and adaptation cleanly against each other. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | 1-3 h | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 2-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | SWOT matrix, Strategic options, Action list | Gap Matrix, Action Plan, Risk Notes | 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 | Ansoff Matrix, Growth Options, Risk Notes |
Tagsno overlap | StrategyAnalysisMarketPositioning | StrategyAnalysisPlanning | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | GrowthStrategyMarketPortfolio |