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| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Decision Making Decision Matrix |  Architecture Architecture Communication Canvas |  Decision Making Trade-off Analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 several options collide with several criteria, comparison quickly becomes subjective. A Decision Matrix makes the trade-off visible and brings weighting, criteria, and options into a shared logic. | The Architecture Communication Canvas plans architecture communication so the right people receive the right message. The method turns technical complexity into deliberate communication design. | With limited resources, quality, speed, cost, and risk almost always compete with each other. Trade-off Analysis makes these tensions explicit and prevents decisions from producing hidden side effects. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 45-90 min | 60-120 min | 45-120 min |
Participantssame | 2-8 | 2-8 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Decision Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected Option | Communication Canvas, Stakeholder Messages, Architecture Communication Plan | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs | ArchitectureCommunicationStakeholdersCanvas | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions |