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Selected:Evaporating CloudSAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method)Assumption SurfacingAssumption Mapping
| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Evaporating Cloud |  Architecture SAAM (Software Architecture Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  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. | SAAM helps teams judge an architecture’s suitability for selected tasks and changes. It is particularly useful for examining modifiability and comparing architecture alternatives with clear reasoning. | 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. | When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Low | Medium |
Timedifferent | 60-120 min | Preparation, scenario analysis, and findings review; effort depends on scope | 45-90 min | 45-60 min |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Architecture experts and stakeholders for scenarios and weighting | 2-8 | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Conflict Cloud, Assumption List, Breakthrough Ideas, Next Experiments | Domain functions mapped to components and connections, Quality attributes and evaluation criteria, Typical tasks and their effects on the architecture, Reasoned evaluation or comparison of alternatives | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking |
Tagsno overlap | Theory of ConstraintsAssumptionsSystems thinking | ArchitectureChangeAnalysisComparisonQuality | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation |