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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 for Behavior Over Time Graph.
Systems Thinking
Behavior Over Time Graph
Causal Loop Diagram workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Systems Thinking
Causal Loop Diagram
Design sheets and interface cards connect to jointly written pseudocode with highlighted unresolved questions.
Architecture
ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)
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.A Behavior Over Time Graph shows how a metric or observation develops over time. The method makes trends, breaks, and recurring patterns visible that get lost in snapshots.A Causal Loop Diagram makes feedback, reinforcement, and balance in a system legible. It uncovers side effects and self-reinforcement that stay hidden in linear explanations.ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowMediumMedium
Timedifferent
3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional20-45 min1-3 h2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional
Participantsdifferent
1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people1-102-8Designers, developers as users, and facilitation
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + async
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 checksBehavior Over Time Graph, Trend Hypotheses, Key EventsCausal Loop Diagram, Feedback Notes, Leverage PointsPrioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
Systems thinkingPatternsDynamics
FeedbackSystems thinkingCausalityDynamics
ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks
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