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Selected:Software Architecture CanvasAssumption MappingAssumption SurfacingArchitecture Inception Canvas
| Criterion |  Architecture Software Architecture Canvas |  Product Discovery Assumption Mapping |  Decision Making Assumption Surfacing |  Architecture Architecture Inception Canvas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Purposedifferent | The Software Architecture Canvas reduces a system to the most important architecture decisions, constraints, and interfaces. It is useful when teams need a resilient overall picture quickly. | When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first. | 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 | Low | Medium | Low | Low |
Timedifferent | 1-2 h | 45-60 min | 45-90 min | 1-2 h |
Participantsdifferent | 3-10 | 2-8 | 2-8 | 3-8 |
Formatdifferent | Workshop | Workshop + async | Workshop + async | Workshop |
Outputdifferent | Architecture Canvas, Goals, Constraints, Quality Attributes | Assumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking | Assumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan | Inception Canvas, Risks, Goal List, Open Questions |
Tagsno overlap | CanvasArchitectureAlignmentWorkshop | AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation | AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery | AlignmentArchitectureCanvas |