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| Criterion |  Business Strategy Value Chain Analysis |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When a problem keeps recurring and the cause stays unclear, the method exposes the underlying mechanism. It separates symptom, guess, and robust explanation from one another. | For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description. |
Complexitydifferent | High | High | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | Half day | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 1-4 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 3-8 | 2-6 |
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 | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | StrategyBusiness modelDiagnosisAnalysis | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |