View methods side by side.
Choose up to four methods. Add them using the search and share the comparison by copying its link.
| Criterion |  Product Discovery Context Canvas |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Knowledge Modeling IBIS |  Decision Making Argument Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When an environment of users, systems, and constraints is hard to grasp, it puts the context compactly on the table. It creates a clear reading of influence, boundary, and dependency. | 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. | IBIS structures thinking about complex questions as a sequence of issues, ideas, and arguments. The method keeps discussions open without forcing them into premature consensus. | When statements, evidence, and counterarguments get mixed up, a debate quickly loses its structure. Argument Mapping breaks a thesis down into its reasoning and makes visible what it really rests on. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 45-90 min | 45-90 min | 1-3 h | 1-3 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 2-8 | 2-8 | 1-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Context canvas, Open questions, Shared context notes | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Issue Map, Positions, Argument Notes | Argument Map, Evidence Gaps, Decision Rationale |
Tagsno overlap | ContextFramingRequirementsCanvas | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | RationaleKnowledgeDecision | SensemakingDecisionRationale |