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| Criterion | ![]() Operations Visual Management | ![]() Systems Thinking Futures Wheel | ![]() Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) | ![]() Systems Thinking CATWOE Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | With high tempo and many parallel topics, the method makes status, deviations, and priorities visible at a glance. It reduces search effort and prevents what matters from getting lost in daily work. | The Futures Wheel helps explore the consequences of a decision, a trend, or a strategic move in a structured way. It makes visible which first, second, and third-order effects could arise from an event. | 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. | CATWOE structures a problem from six viewpoints and prevents too narrow a view of the situation. Different experiences of the system become comparably discussable this way. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | Ongoing | 60-120 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-20 | 3-10 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 3-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Visual Board, Status Indicators, Exception Cues | Futures Wheel, Consequence Chains, Strategic Signals | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | CATWOE Canvas, Root Definition, Stakeholder Perspectives, Constraints |
Tagsno overlap | SignalsOperationsVisual management | ForesightSystems thinkingSignals | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | Systems thinkingFramingStakeholders |



