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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)
Iceberg Model method illustration showing its working structure
Systems Thinking
Iceberg Model
Stock and Flow Diagram method illustration showing its working structure
Systems Thinking
Stock and Flow 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.The Iceberg Model separates visible events from patterns, structures, and mental models. This turns a single observation into a deeper understanding of why a problem keeps recurring.A Stock and Flow Diagram shows how stocks, inflows, and outflows shape a system over time. It is especially suited when growth, delays, or capacity limits determine the dynamics.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowHigh
Timedifferent
2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional30-60 min2-6 h
Participantsdifferent
Designers, developers as users, and facilitation2-101-6
Formatsame
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisionsIceberg Worksheet, Pattern Notes, Intervention IdeasStock and Flow Model, Dynamics Notes, Simulation Hypotheses
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks
Systems thinkingRoot causePatterns
DynamicsSimulationFeedbackSystems thinking
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Often compared together

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

Paper illustration for Behavior Over Time Graph.
Systems Thinking
Behavior Over Time Graph
Causal Loop Diagram workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Systems Thinking
Causal Loop Diagram
Paper illustration of System Archetypes with its method-specific working model.
Systems Thinking
System Archetypes
Paper illustration of System Dynamics Simulation with its method-specific working model.
Systems Thinking
System Dynamics Simulation