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Criterion
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem
Paper illustration for Constraint Analysis.
Decision Making
Constraint Analysis
Paper illustration for Contradiction Analysis.
Innovation
Contradiction Analysis
Paper illustration of an assumption matrix with prioritized test cards
Decision Making
Assumption Surfacing
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 an initiative stalls, the limit often lies not in the idea but in hard or soft boundary conditions. Constraint Analysis separates these limits and shows which of them can actually be shaped.When a system should improve while another measure suffers as a result, the method makes the underlying conflict precisely formulable. It separates the desired effect from its side effect. This makes solutions possible that address the contradiction deliberately instead of half-heartedly.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.
Complexitydifferent
LowLowMediumLow
Timedifferent
20–45 min30-90 min60-120 min45-90 min
Participantsdifferent
Small cross-functional group2-82-82-8
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logConstraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision BoundariesContradiction Statement, Abstraction Notes, Solution Principles, Concept IdeasAssumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan
Tagsno overlap
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions
ContradictionsInnovationProblem solving
AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery
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