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Criterion
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem
Paper illustration of an assumption matrix with prioritized test cards
Decision Making
Assumption Surfacing
A paper-based illustration representing arc42 with its core stages and visible working result.
Architecture
arc42
Purposedifferent
In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures.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.arc42 structures architecture knowledge so teams can document system, decisions, and risks consistently. The template builds a living understanding of the architecture instead of scattered notes.
Complexitysame
LowLowLow
Timedifferent
20–45 min45-90 min1-2 Tage
Participantsdifferent
Small cross-functional group2-81-4
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logAssumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning PlanArchitecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment View
Tagsno overlap
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery
ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Architecture Communication Canvas method illustration showing its working structure
Architecture
Architecture Communication Canvas
Paper illustration of two considered options leading to a decision record with a marked status and visible consequences.
Architecture
Architecture Decision Record
Paper illustration of a calm four-quadrant Assumption Map with hypothesis cards and emphasis on important assumptions with little evidence.
Product Discovery
Assumption Mapping
A paper-based illustration representing C4 Model with its core stages and visible working result.
Architecture
C4 Model