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Criterion
Paper illustration of an assumption matrix with prioritized test cards
Decision Making
Assumption Surfacing
Paper illustration of Cost of Delay with its method-specific working model.
Delivery
Cost of Delay
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record
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.Helps clarify scope, order, and delivery flow in concrete terms. It makes work, constraints, and sequence manageable. The result is captured as a Cost of Delay table and prioritization sequence.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.
Complexitydifferent
LowHighLow
Timedifferent
45-90 min90-180 min15-45 min
Participantsdifferent
2-83-81-3
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopAsync
Outputdifferent
Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning PlanCoD Table, Prioritization SequenceADR File, Decision Log, Rationale
Tagsno overlap
AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery
PrioritizationDeliveryEconomicsDecision
ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration of Request for Comments (RFC) with its method-specific working model.
Architecture
Request for Comments
Paper illustration of a calibrated five-by-five risk matrix with response cards.
Decision Making
Risk Matrix
Paper illustration for Argument Mapping
Decision Making
Argument Mapping