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| Criterion |  Product Discovery Working Backwards |  Operations Root Cause Analysis |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Operations 5 Whys |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When the target state and benefit need to be clear first, it thinks backward from the desired outcome into the product logic. It sharpens vision, objections, and value proposition before elaboration. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Medium | High | Low |
Timedifferent | 4-8 h, mehrere Iterationen | 1-4 h | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-6 | 3-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-6 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Future Press Release, FAQ, Vision Statement | Problem Statement, Cause Hypotheses, Confirmed Causes, Action Plan | 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 | Root cause notes, Countermeasures |
Tagsno overlap | VisionNarrativeAlignment | Root causeProblem solvingQualityIncident | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving |