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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)
Empathy Mapping
UX Research
Empathy Mapping
A 5 Whys working surface connects an observable problem with evidenced causes, marked uncertainty and concrete countermeasures with ownership.
Operations
5 Whys
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.When a lot is assumed about a target group but little is seen jointly, empathy mapping makes knowledge and gaps directly comparable. The picture also shows which assumptions hold up and where evidence is missing.For a single, hard-to-explain deviation, the method exposes the causal chain behind the visible symptom. It keeps the cause open until a controllable condition emerges instead of a mere description.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowLow
Timedifferent
3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional30–60 min15-30 min
Participantsdifferent
1 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people4-82-6
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop
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 checksEmpathy Map, Assumptions List, Research GapsRoot cause notes, Countermeasures
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
SynthesisQualitativeWorkshop
Root causeIncidentLeanProblem solving
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Often compared together

Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration for Root Cause Analysis.
Operations
Root Cause Analysis
Paper illustration for 8D Problem Solving.
Operations
8D Problem Solving
Affinity Diagramming
UX Research
Affinity Diagramming
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)