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Selected:Value Chain AnalysisSAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Business Model Stress Test
| Criterion | ![]() Business Strategy Value Chain Analysis | ![]() Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) | ![]() Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) | ![]() Business Strategy Business Model Stress Test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | Value Chain Analysis shows where value is created, costs accrue, and differentiation becomes possible along the process. It compares strengths, risks, market logic, and courses of action. The result is captured as a value-chain map and lever list. | 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. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. | A Business Model Stress Test checks how well a business model holds up under pressure and headwinds. It compares strengths, risks, market logic, and courses of action. The result is captured as a stress-test report and action plan per scenario. |
Complexitydifferent | High | High | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | Half day | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | Half day |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Value Chain Map, Lever List | 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 | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Stress Test Report, Action Plan per Scenario |
Tagsno overlap | StrategyBusiness modelDiagnosisAnalysis | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | StrategyBusiness modelRiskDiagnosis |



