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Selected:Assumption SurfacingATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)Power Interest GridPre-Mortem
| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Facilitation Power Interest Grid |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | ATAM helps teams weigh architecture decisions when quality goals compete. The team considers business goals, stakeholder expectations, and technical decisions together. The evaluation shows which risks need further investigation. | When many stakeholders compete for attention at once, the Power Interest Grid sorts them by influence and stake. It turns individual contributions into a visible selection. The result is captured as a Power Interest Grid and a stakeholder-specific strategy. | In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 30-60 min | 20–45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 2-8 | Small cross-functional group |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Power Interest Grid, Strategy per Stakeholder | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | StakeholdersFacilitationAlignmentPlanning | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning |