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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
Decision Tree method illustration showing its working structure
Decision Making
Decision Tree
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 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.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.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
LowMediumMediumLow
Timedifferent
20–45 min60-180 min30-90 min45-90 min
Participantsdifferent
Small cross-functional group4-201-62-8
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Risk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logCynefin Map, Domain-specific Actions, Sensemaking NotesDecision Tree, Option Map, Assumption ListAssumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan
Tags1 shared
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
ComplexitySensemakingDecision
DecisionTreeOptions
AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery
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