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| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Delivery Communication Plan |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  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. | When many people need to be informed in parallel and messages would otherwise arrive unevenly or too late, a Communication Plan orders communication reliably. Channels, audiences, and cadences interlock so important information doesn't get lost. | 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. | 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. |
Complexitysame | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 45-90 min | 15-45 min | 20–45 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-6 | 1-3 | Small cross-functional group |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Communication Plan, Channel Matrix, Message Cadence | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | CommunicationStakeholdersDeliveryPlanning | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning |