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Criterion
Rich Picture workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Systems Thinking
Rich Picture
Paper illustration for Alignment Mapping.
Facilitation
Alignment Mapping
Four paper stations connect system purpose, quality goals, risk cards and focused investigation with a target and gap profile.
Architecture
LASR (Lightweight Approach for Software Reviews)
Purposedifferent
A Rich Picture brings an unclear situation onto a shared drawing. It captures actors, tensions, information flows, and blind spots before the team jumps to solutions too early.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.LASR helps development teams identify where their software falls short of important quality goals and which improvements to consider. A small group with existing system knowledge can make an initial assessment and investigate open questions in more detail.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumMedium
Timedifferent
30-90 min1-2 h3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional
Participantsdifferent
2-104-121 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Rich Picture, Problem Framing NotesAlignment Map, Open Issues, Decision QuestionsLean Mission Statement describing the software’s purpose, Prioritized quality goals and evaluation criteria, Risks and estimated gaps against quality goals, More closely examined findings and open checks
Tagsno overlap
Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization
AlignmentStakeholdersStrategyFacilitation
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
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Methods with strong topical overlap with the current selection, not yet in the comparison.

Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration for CATWOE Analysis.
Systems Thinking
CATWOE Analysis
Paper illustration of Power-Interest Grid with a method-specific labelled workspace.
Facilitation
Power Interest Grid
Stakeholder Mapping
Facilitation
Stakeholder Mapping