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Selected:ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Affinity DiagrammingAssumption SurfacingRisk Storming
| Criterion |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  UX Research Affinity Diagramming |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Architecture Risk Storming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. | When research notes, feedback, or observations sit unconnected side by side, affinity diagramming sorts the raw material into solid themes. Many individual points turn into patterns that make decisions and opportunities clearer. | 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. | Helps clarify architecture context, options, and consequences in concrete terms. It organizes technical context, alternatives, and consequences. The result is captured as an Annotated Diagram, a Prioritized Risk List, and an Action Backlog. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 45–90 min | 45-90 min | 60-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 3-10 | 2-8 | 4-12 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Theme clusters, Insight statements, Opportunity areas | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Annotated Diagram, Prioritized Risk List, Action Backlog |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | SynthesisQualitativeRoot cause | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | RiskArchitectureWorkshopValidation |