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Selected:Product CanvasATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)Assumption SurfacingArchitecture Inception Canvas
| Criterion |  Product Strategy Product Canvas |  Architecture ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method) |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Architecture Architecture Inception Canvas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | When product goal and feature scope don't yet fit cleanly together, it creates a shared working picture. It connects need, core features, and assumptions into a solid starting point. | ATAM helps teams weigh architecture decisions when quality goals compete. The team considers business goals, stakeholder expectations, and technical decisions together. The evaluation shows which risks need further investigation. | 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. | The Architecture Inception Canvas bundles the first architecture questions into a compact decision picture. It fits when an initiative is still in motion but still needs clear guardrails. |
Complexitydifferent | Medium | High | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | Several meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope | 45-90 min | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 2-8 | Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders | 2-8 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Product Canvas, Product Assumptions, Scope Notes | Prioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigations | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Inception Canvas, Risks, Goal List, Open Questions |
Tagsno overlap | CanvasDiscoveryScope | ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | AlignmentArchitectureCanvas |