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| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Architecture Software Architecture Canvas |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable. | 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 |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 15-45 min | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 1-3 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Architecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality Attributes |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop |
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