12.5 Results of the CBAM Exercise

The most obvious results of the CBAM are shown in Table 12.8: an ordering of architectural strategies based on their predicted ROI. However, just as for the ATAM method, the benefits of the CBAM extend beyond the qualitative outcomes. There are social and cultural benefits as well.

Just as important as the ranking of architectural strategies in CBAM is the discussion that accompanies the information-collecting and decision-making processes. The CBAM process provides a great deal of structure to what is always largely unstructured discussions, where requirements and architectural strategies are freely mixed and where stimuli and response goals are not clearly articulated. The CBAM process forces the stakeholders to make their scenarios clear in advance, to assign utility levels of specific response goals, and to prioritize these scenarios based on the resulting determination of utility. Finally, this process results in clarification of both scenarios and requirements, which by itself is a significant benefit.