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Criterion
Paper illustration for TOWS Matrix.
Business Strategy
TOWS Matrix
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)
Paper illustration for Decision Framing Workshop.
Decision Making
Decision Framing Workshop
Purposedifferent
The TOWS Matrix connects internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats into action-oriented strategies. It goes a step further than a pure stocktaking.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.When a decision is poorly framed, even good answers deliver little value. A Decision Framing Workshop sharpens the problem, goal, and boundaries before the actual weighing begins.
Complexitysame
MediumMediumMedium
Timedifferent
1-2 h3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional60-120 min
Participantsdifferent
3-101 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people4-10
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
TOWS Matrix, Strategic Options, Priority ActionsLean 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 checksDecision Frame, Decision Question, Criteria List, Evidence Plan
Tagsno overlap
StrategyAnalysisOptions
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
Decision framingAlignmentCriteriaOptions
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Option Framing.
Decision Making
Option Framing
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment Mapping