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| Criterion |  Business Strategy SWOT Analysis |  Business Strategy GAP Analysis |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Business Strategy PESTLE Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | PESTLE Analysis makes political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental influences visible. The environment of an initiative is thereby read systematically instead of through isolated trends. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 30-60 min | 1-3 h | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-12 | 2-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-10 |
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 | PESTLE Map, External Risks, Strategic Questions |
Tags1 shared | StrategyAnalysisMarketPositioning | StrategyAnalysisPlanning | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | StrategyMarketAnalysis |