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| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Agile Affinity Estimation |  Agile Bucket System |  Decision Making PERT Estimation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When many tasks need to be classified quickly, it sorts them by perceived effort and similarity. It reduces the effort of fine-grained estimation for large volumes. | When a large batch of work needs a fast, rough estimate, it sorts items into predefined size buckets. It sorts work by value, risk, and delivery ability. The result is captured as a Bucketed Backlog, Relative Estimates, and Split Candidates. | On complex initiatives, a plain average tends to understate just how uncertain the outcome really is. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a PERT Estimate, Expected Value, and Risk Notes. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 30-90 min | 30-90 min | 15-45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-12 | 3-12 | 1-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Affinity Size Map, Grouped Estimates, Unclear Items | Bucketed Backlog, Relative Estimates, Split Candidates | PERT Estimate, Expected Value, Risk Notes |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | EstimationBacklogRelative sizing | EstimationBacklogRelative sizing | EstimationUncertaintyRisk |