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Selected:Views and BeyondAssumption SurfacingAlignment MappingATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
| Criterion |  Architecture Views and Beyond |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | High |
Timedifferent | 1-3 Tage | 45-90 min | 1-2 h | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope |
Participantsdifferent | 1-4 | 2-8 | 4-12 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Architecture Views, Cross-view Notes, Rationale | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations |
Tagsno overlap | DocumentationStakeholdersArchitecture | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders |