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| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Evaporating Cloud |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Business Strategy VRIO Framework |  Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | The method makes visible why two seemingly incompatible demands arise and which assumption must be tested to resolve the conflict. | 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 VRIO Framework rates resources and capabilities on whether they are Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, and Organized. It compares strengths, risks, market logic, and courses of action. The result is captured as a VRIO table and strategic actions. | When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium |
Timedifferent | 60-120 min | 45-90 min | 90-180 min | 45-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | 2-8 | 3-6 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Conflict Cloud, Assumption List, Breakthrough Ideas, Next Experiments | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | VRIO Table, Strategic Actions | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking |
Tagsno overlap | Theory of ConstraintsAssumptionsSystems thinking | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | StrategyDiagnosisBusiness modelCapability | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation |