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Criterion
Paper illustration for Trade-off Analysis.
Decision Making
Trade-off Analysis
Decision Tree method illustration showing its working structure
Decision Making
Decision Tree
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 of a decision table with criteria rows, weighted ratings, and a narrowly leading alternative.
Decision Making
Decision Matrix
Purposedifferent
With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects.For decisions with follow-on paths and dependencies, a linear comparison is often not enough. A Decision Tree shows how options branch under conditions and which consequences hang on each branch.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 several options collide with several criteria, comparison quickly becomes subjective. A Decision Matrix makes the trade-off visible and brings weighting, criteria, and options into a shared logic.
Complexitysame
MediumMediumMediumMedium
Timedifferent
45-120 min30-90 min3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional45-90 min
Participantsdifferent
2-81-61 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people2-8
Formatsame
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted DownsidesDecision Tree, Option Map, Assumption ListLean 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 Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected Option
Tagsno overlap
TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions
DecisionTreeOptions
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs
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