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| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Delivery Cost of Delay |  Architecture Architecture Decision Record |  Decision Making Risk Matrix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | When a project faces many possible disruptions, it quickly becomes unclear which risks deserve attention first. It separates options, evaluation criteria, and open risks. The result is captured as a Risk Matrix and a Top Risk List. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 90-180 min | 15-45 min | 30-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 3-8 | 1-3 | 3-10 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop | Async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | CoD Table, Prioritization Sequence | ADR File, Decision Log, Rationale | Risk Matrix, Top Risk List |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | PrioritizationDeliveryEconomicsDecision | ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance | RiskDecisionPrioritizationAssessment |