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Criterion
Four paper stations connect system purpose, quality goals, risk cards and focused investigation with a target and gap profile.
Architecture
LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)
Paper illustration of an assumption matrix with prioritized test cards
Decision Making
Assumption Surfacing
Paper illustration of Request for Comments (RFC) with its method-specific working model.
Architecture
Request for Comments
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record
Purposedifferent
LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail.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.An RFC clarifies architecture context, options, and consequences. It structures technical context, alternatives, tradeoffs, open questions, and review feedback, and captures the result as an RFC document, reviewer comments, and a decision rationale.An ADR permanently records an architecture decision with context, trade-offs, and consequence. It creates continuity for later changes because the decision path stays traceable.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowMediumLow
Timedifferent
3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional45-90 min1-3 Wochen vom Draft bis zur Entscheidung15-45 min
Participantsdifferent
1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people2-83-20 Reviewer1-3
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncAsyncAsync
Outputdifferent
Lean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checksAssumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning PlanRFC document, Reviewer comments, Decision rationale, Follow-up ADR or ticketsADR File, Decision Log, Rationale
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery
ArchitectureDecisionAsyncGovernance
ArchitectureRationaleDocumentationGovernance
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