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| Criterion |  Architecture Views and Beyond |  Operations 5 Whys |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Tage | 15-30 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 1-4 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-4 | 2-6 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale | Root cause notes, Countermeasures | 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 |
Tagsno overlap | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident |