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| Criterion |  Business Strategy TOWS Matrix |  Architecture Views and Beyond |  Facilitation Stakeholder Mapping |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | Views and Beyond organizes architecture into several views so no single diagram has to do everything at once. This makes it possible to choose the representation that fits the stakeholder's question. | When an initiative depends on many people, interests, and power dynamics, Stakeholder Mapping systematically orders the environment. It shows who influences, who is affected, and where relationship management or safeguarding matters first. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | Low | High |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | 1-3 Tage | 60–90 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 1-4 | 2-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | TOWS Matrix, Strategic Options, Priority Actions | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale | Stakeholder Map, Engagement 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 |
Tagsno overlap | StrategyAnalysisOptions | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture | StakeholdersAlignmentFacilitationChange | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality |