methodatlas
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Criterion
Paper illustration of an eight-panel idea sheet with varied sketches beside a timer set to eight minutes.
Innovation
Crazy 8s
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem
Paper illustration of an assumption matrix with prioritized test cards
Decision Making
Assumption Surfacing
Purposedifferent
With only a few minutes available and a still-fuzzy solution search, the method forces a wide range of variants. It produces fast sketches before the first idea can settle in, making different directions directly comparable and open to further development.In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures.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.
Complexitysame
LowLowLow
Timedifferent
8-15 min20–45 min45-90 min
Participantsdifferent
1-10Small cross-functional group2-8
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Sketch Set, Idea Shortlist, Direction OptionsRisk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logAssumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan
Tagsno overlap
BrainstormingSketchingSpeedDivergenceDesign sprint
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration of Rapid Ideation with its method-specific working model.
Innovation
Rapid Ideation
Paper illustration of a calm four-quadrant Assumption Map with hypothesis cards and emphasis on important assumptions with little evidence.
Product Discovery
Assumption Mapping
A paper-based illustration representing Brainstorming with its core stages and visible working result.
Innovation
Brainstorming
Paper illustration for Constraint Analysis.
Decision Making
Constraint Analysis