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Criterion
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment Mapping
Four paper stations connect system purpose, quality goals, risk cards and focused investigation with a target and gap profile.
Architecture
LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)
Paper illustration of the Lotus Blossom working structure.
Innovation
Lotus Blossom
A paper-based illustration representing Brainstorming with its core stages and visible working result.
Innovation
Brainstorming
Purposedifferent
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.LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail.When a central question feels too large, the method breaks it into neighboring topic fields with their own depth of ideation. It holds structure and openness at the same time, so adjacent perspectives don't get lost. This grows an idea space out of a core problem.When a team faces an open question with many obvious directions, the method first creates breadth instead of premature commitment. It separates idea flow from evaluation and makes lines of thought visible, creating a pool for selection and further development.
Complexitydifferent
MediumMediumLowLow
Timedifferent
1-2 h3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional45-90 min30-60 min
Participantsdifferent
4-121 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people3-104-12
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision QuestionsLean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checksLotus Diagram, Idea Themes, ShortlistIdea pool, Theme clusters, Shortlist
Tagsno overlap
AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
BrainstormingIdeationCreativityDivergenceWorkshop
BrainstormingIdeationCreativityWorkshopDivergence
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