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| Criterion |  Delivery Value Stream Mapping |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When delivery work dissolves into wait times, handoffs, and hidden effort, Value Stream Mapping makes the actual flow visible. The method exposes bottlenecks, idle time, and feedback loops so lead time and improvement levers become tangible. | ATAM helps teams weigh architecture decisions when quality goals compete. The team considers business goals, stakeholder expectations, and technical decisions together. The evaluation shows which risks need further investigation. | 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 | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 4-10 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck list | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | LeanFlowWasteDelivery | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.
