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Criterion
Visual Management workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Operations
Visual Management
Paper illustration with architecture components and concrete change tasks for comparison.
Architecture
SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)
A 5 Whys working surface connects an observable problem with evidenced causes, marked uncertainty and concrete countermeasures with ownership.
Operations
5 Whys
Paper illustration for Change Analysis.
Operations
Change 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.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.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.For a deviation after a change, the method isolates the influence of the altered condition. It narrows down which differences are relevant and which are just accompanying noise.
Complexitydifferent
LowHighLowMedium
Timedifferent
OngoingPreparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope15-30 min45-120 min
Participantsdifferent
1-20Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting2-62-6
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Visual Board, Status Indicators, Exception CuesDomain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternativesRoot cause notes, CountermeasuresChange Matrix, Cause Hypotheses, Validation Questions, Action List
Tagsno overlap
SignalsOperationsVisual management
ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality
Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving
ChangeRoot causeTroubleshootingComparison
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