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| Criterion |  Decision Making Pre-Mortem |  Product Strategy Counter Metrics |  Facilitation Alignment Mapping |  Product Strategy SMART Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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 headline metric could mask side effects, it adds guardrail signals against unwanted outcomes. It connects customer value, product logic, and decision priorities. The result is captured as a counter-metric list and guardrail definitions. | When several people work toward one goal but hold different mental maps, Alignment Mapping makes the discrepancies visible. It arranges goals, assumptions, and priorities so shared direction becomes verifiable. | When goals are formulated too generally, it brings measurability, direction, and timing into shape. It prevents intentions from staying without clear verification. |
Complexitydifferent | Low | Low | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 20–45 min | 30-60 min | 1-2 h | 15-30 min |
Participantsdifferent | Small cross-functional group | 2-6 | 4-12 | 1-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption log | Counter Metric List, Guardrail Definitions | Alignment Map, Open Issues, Decision Questions | SMART Goal, Measurement Note, Deadline |
Tagsno overlap | RiskDecisionFailurePlanning | MetricsMeasurementStrategyExperiments | AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation | GoalsPlanningMeasurementAlignment |