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Criterion
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem
Paper illustration for Cynefin Workshop.
Decision Making
Cynefin Workshop
Paper illustration of an assumption matrix with prioritized test cards
Decision Making
Assumption Surfacing
Paper illustration for Constraint Analysis.
Decision Making
Constraint Analysis
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 problems are unclear, chaotic, or only seemingly familiar, standard recipes fall short. A Cynefin Workshop sorts situations by the nature of their problem and connects them with matching action logic.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.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.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumLowLow
Timedifferent
20–45 min60-180 min45-90 min30-90 min
Participantsdifferent
Small cross-functional group4-202-82-8
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logCynefin Map, Domain-specific Actions, Sensemaking NotesAssumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning PlanConstraint List, Hard/Soft Classification, Option Impact Notes, Decision Boundaries
Tags1 shared
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
ComplexitySensemakingDecision
AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery
ConstraintsDecisionPlanningOptions
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