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| Criterion |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Decision Making Decision Matrix |  Systems Thinking Future Reality Tree |  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. | A Future Reality Tree shows how desired actions are meant to lead to a better system state. The method checks whether a path of change holds together logically before time flows into implementation. | 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 | High | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 45-90 min | 2-4 h | 45-120 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-8 | 3-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Decision Matrix, Scoring Rationale, Selected Option | Future Reality Tree, Negative Branches, Assumption List, Improved Injections | Trade-off Matrix, Criteria List, Decision Rationale, Accepted Downsides |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | DecisionCriteriaScoringTradeoffs | Theory of ConstraintsSystems thinkingChange | TradeoffsDecisionCriteriaOptions |