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Criterion
Paper illustration of a Test Card with four fields for hypothesis, test, metric, and success threshold.
Product Discovery
Test Card
Paper illustration of an assumption matrix with prioritized test cards
Decision Making
Assumption Surfacing
Paper illustration: scenarios and architectural decisions are connected to identified risks.
Architecture
ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
Paper illustration of Experiment Canvas with a method-specific labelled workspace.
Product Discovery
Experiment Canvas
Purposedifferent
The Test Card turns a critical assumption into a testable claim and specifies in advance which result counts as success.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.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.When experiments become unreadable after the fact, it arranges hypothesis, signal, and learning goal on a single canvas. It separates problem, assumption, solution, and evidence. The result is captured as a Completed Experiment Canvas and a Success Metric.
Complexitydifferent
LowLowHighLow
Timedifferent
20-35 min45-90 minSeveral meetings plus preparation and analysis; total effort depends on scope30-60 min
Participantsdifferent
1-52-8Evaluation team, architects, and relevant stakeholders1-5
Formatsame
Workshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + asyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Test Card with a pre-set thresholdAssumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning PlanPrioritized quality scenarios in a utility tree, Architecture risks with reasoning and assumptions, Sensitivity and trade-off points, Findings report with open investigationsCompleted Experiment Canvas, Success Metric
Tagsno overlap
ExperimentsValidationDiscoveryHypothesis
AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery
ArchitectureQualityRiskTradeoffsStakeholders
ExperimentsValidationDiscoveryHypothesis
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