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Selected:Assumption SurfacingSAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)Riskiest Assumption TestAssumption Mapping
| Criterion | ![]() Decision Making Assumption Surfacing | ![]() Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) | ![]() Product Discovery Riskiest Assumption Test | ![]() Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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. | SAAM helps teams judge an architecture’s suitability for selected tasks and changes. It is particularly useful for examining modifiability and comparing architecture alternatives with clear reasoning. | When an idea hinges on one critical unknown, it prioritizes testing that exact piece of uncertainty first. It separates problem, assumption, solution, and evidence. The result is captured as a prioritized list of assumptions, a test plan, and a result report. | When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | High | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 1-2 Wochen pro Iteration | 45-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-6 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Domain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternatives | Prioritized Assumption List, Test Plan, Results Report | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking |
Tagsno overlap | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | ExperimentsValidationDiscoveryAssumptions | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation |



