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| Criterion |  Architecture C4 Model |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Product Discovery Test Card |  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. | The Test Card turns a critical assumption into a testable claim and specifies in advance which result counts as success. | 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 | 20-35 min | 45-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 1-5 | 2-8 | 1-5 | 2-8 |
Formatsame | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Context Diagram, Container Diagram, Component Diagram | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Test Card with a pre-set threshold | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking |
Tagsno overlap | ArchitectureCommunicationVisualization | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | ExperimentsValidationDiscoveryHypothesis | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation |