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Criterion
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem
Paper illustration for Bucket System.
Agile
Bucket System
Decision Tree method illustration showing its working structure
Decision Making
Decision Tree
Paper illustration for Dot Estimation.
Facilitation
Dot Estimation
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.When a large batch of work needs a fast, rough estimate, it sorts items into predefined size buckets. It sorts work by value, risk, and delivery ability. The result is captured as a Bucketed Backlog, Relative Estimates, and Split Candidates.For decisions with follow-on paths and dependencies, a linear comparison is often not enough. A Decision Tree shows how options branch under conditions and which consequences hang on each branch.When size or effort can only be estimated roughly, Dot Estimation condenses the group's experience into a quick range. It turns individual contributions into a visible selection. The result is captured as an Effort Heatmap, Risk Signals, and Discussion Targets.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumMediumLow
Timedifferent
20–45 min30-90 min30-90 min5-20 min
Participantsdifferent
Small cross-functional group3-121-63-20
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logBucketed Backlog, Relative Estimates, Split CandidatesDecision Tree, Option Map, Assumption ListEffort Heatmap, Risk Signals, Discussion Targets
Tagsno overlap
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
EstimationBacklogRelative sizing
DecisionTreeOptions
EstimationEffortRisk
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