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| Criterion |  Architecture C4 Model |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Decision Making Constraint Analysis |  Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | The C4 Model makes a system legible across several resolution levels, from context down to code. It suits situations where different audiences need to understand the same architecture from different altitudes. | 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 an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped. | When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-4 h | 45-90 min | 30-90 min | 45-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-5 | 2-8 | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Constraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation |