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Selected:Behavior Over Time GraphAssumption SurfacingARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Causal Loop Diagram
| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Behavior Over Time Graph |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Systems Thinking Causal Loop Diagram |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | A Behavior Over Time Graph shows how a metric or observation develops over time. The method makes trends, breaks, and recurring patterns visible that get lost in snapshots. | 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. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. | A Causal Loop Diagram makes feedback, reinforcement, and balance in a system legible. It uncovers side effects and self-reinforcement that stay hidden in linear explanations. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 20-45 min | 45-90 min | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 1-10 | 2-8 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Behavior Over Time Graph, Trend Hypotheses, Key Events | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Causal Loop Diagram, Feedback Notes, Leverage Points |
Tagsno overlap | Systems thinkingPatternsDynamics | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | FeedbackSystems thinkingCausalityDynamics |