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Selected:Soft Systems MethodologyAssumption MappingARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs)Assumption Surfacing
| Criterion |  Systems Thinking Soft Systems Methodology |  Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |  Architecture ARID (Active Reviews for Intermediate Designs) |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | Soft Systems Methodology helps explore unclear or politically charged problems systematically. Instead of forcing a quick answer, the method builds a shared understanding of perspectives and room for action. | When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. | ARID examines how well developers can work with a technical design. It focuses on a part of the system that can still be revised, between the architecture overview and the detailed specification. | 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 | High | Medium | Medium | Low |
Timedifferent | 0.5-3 Tage | 45-60 min | 2–4 h review as a planning range; preparation and evaluation additional | 45-90 min |
Participantsdifferent | 5-15 | 2-8 | Designers, developers as users, and facilitation | 2-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop + async |
Outputdifferent | Rich Picture, Root Definitions, Conceptual Models, Change Agenda | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking | Prioritized development tasks, Jointly produced code or pseudocode, Observed difficulties and open design questions, Proposed design revisions | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan |
Tagsno overlap | Soft systemsComplexitySensemakingSystems thinking | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation | ArchitectureEngineeringFeedbackValidationTasks | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery |