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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Causal Loop Diagram |  Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |
|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | 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. | When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. | 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. |
Complexitysame | Medium | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 1-3 h | 45-60 min | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-8 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Causal Loop Diagram, Feedback Notes, Leverage Points | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions |
Tagsno overlap | FeedbackSystems thinkingCausalityDynamics | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks |
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