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Criterion
Rich Picture workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Systems Thinking
Rich Picture
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)
Paper illustration for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
Operations
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
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.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.For a process, product, or service with noticeable failure risks, the method assesses possible failure modes in advance. It directs attention to combinations of occurrence, effect, and detectability.
Complexitydifferent
LowMediumHigh
Timedifferent
30-90 min3–4 h for initial assessment; preparation and deeper analysis additional2-6 h
Participantsdifferent
2-101 or a small team; particularly suitable for 3–4 people3-10
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshop
Outputdifferent
Rich Picture, Problem Framing NotesLean 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 checksFMEA Table, Risk Priority, Mitigation Actions
Tagsno overlap
Systems thinkingSoft systemsFramingVisualization
ArchitectureQualityRiskAssessmentLean
RiskQualityOperationsRoot cause
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Often compared together

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 fishbone diagram with a measurable effect at the head and six labeled cause branches.
Operations
Fishbone Diagram
Paper illustration of Scatter Diagram with its method-specific working model.
Operations
Scatter Diagram