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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 TOWS Matrix.
Business Strategy
TOWS Matrix
Paper illustration of a branching impact map with a Why goal at the root, actor circles, How behavior changes and What options.
Product Strategy
Impact Mapping
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 TOWS Matrix connects internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats into action-oriented strategies. It goes a step further than a pure stocktaking.When a goal needs to be connected to several possible paths, it shows chains of impact instead of feature lists. It connects business goal, behavior change, and measures.
Complexitysame
MediumMediumMedium
Timedifferent
2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional1-2 h45-90 min
Participantsdifferent
Designers, developers as users, and facilitation3-103-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisionsTOWS Matrix, Strategic Options, Priority ActionsImpact Map, Outcome Hypotheses, Delivery Options
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks
StrategyAnalysisOptions
OutcomesStrategyBehaviorPlanning
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Often compared together

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

Gap Analysis method illustration showing its working structure
Business Strategy
GAP Analysis
Paper illustration for Constraint Analysis.
Decision Making
Constraint Analysis
Paper notes move from an inbox to action, project and calendar collections.
Operations
Getting Things Done
Paper illustration of GIST Planning with its method-specific working model.
Product Strategy
GIST Planning