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| Criterion |  Architecture Architecture Inception Canvas |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Architecture Software Architecture Canvas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | The Architecture Inception Canvas bundles the first architecture questions into a compact decision picture. It fits when an initiative is still in motion but still needs clear guardrails. | Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it. | In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures. | The Software Architecture Canvas reduces a system to the most important architecture decisions, constraints, and interfaces. It is useful when teams need a resilient overall picture quickly. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | 45-90 min | 20–45 min | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-8 | 2-8 | Small cross-functional group | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Inception Canvas, Risks, Goal List, Open Questions | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Architecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality Attributes |
Tagsno overlap | AlignmentArchitectureCanvas | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop |