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Criterion
Design sheets and interface cards connect to jointly written pseudocode with highlighted unresolved questions.
Architecture
ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
Paper illustration for Argument Mapping
Decision Making
Argument Mapping
Causal Loop Diagram workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Systems Thinking
Causal Loop Diagram
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 statements, evidence, and counterarguments get mixed up, a debate quickly loses its structure. Argument Mapping breaks a thesis down into its reasoning and makes visible what it really rests on.A Causal Loop Diagram makes feedback, reinforcement, and balance in a system legible. It uncovers side effects and self-reinforcement that stay hidden in linear explanations.
Complexitysame
MediumMediumMedium
Timedifferent
2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional1-3 h1-3 h
Participantsdifferent
Designers, developers as users, and facilitation1-82-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisionsArgument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision RationaleCausal Loop Diagram, Feedback Notes, Leverage Points
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks
SensemakingDecisionRationale
FeedbackSystems thinkingCausalityDynamics
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Stock and Flow Diagram method illustration showing its working structure
Systems Thinking
Stock and Flow Diagram
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record
Paper illustration for Behavior Over Time Graph.
Systems Thinking
Behavior Over Time Graph
Paper illustration for Current Reality Tree
Systems Thinking
Current Reality Tree