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Criterion
Value Stream Mapping workspace showing the question, observations, and next decision.
Delivery
Value Stream Mapping
Paper illustration of an assumption matrix with prioritized test cards
Decision Making
Assumption Surfacing
A paper-based illustration representing WSJF with its core stages and visible working result.
Agile
WSJF
Paper illustration of a calm four-quadrant Assumption Map with hypothesis cards and emphasis on important assumptions with little evidence.
Product Discovery
Assumption Mapping
Purposedifferent
When delivery work dissolves into wait times, handoffs, and hidden effort, Value Stream Mapping makes the actual flow visible. The method exposes bottlenecks, idle time, and feedback loops so lead time and improvement levers become tangible.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.When many tasks compete for the same capacity, it orders work by economic impact. It makes time lost, benefit, and effort comparable together.When assumptions still sit unordered in the room, it weighs uncertainty against leverage. It makes visible which hypotheses should be checked first.
Complexitydifferent
MediumLowHighMedium
Timedifferent
1-3 h45-90 min45-90 min45-60 min
Participantsdifferent
4-102-83-102-8
Formatdifferent
WorkshopWorkshop + asyncWorkshopWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Current-state map, Future-state map, Bottleneck listAssumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning PlanRanked Backlog, Cost-of-Delay AssumptionsAssumption map, Test backlog, Risk ranking
Tagsno overlap
LeanFlowWasteDelivery
AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery
LeanEconomicsSequencePrioritization
AssumptionsRiskExperimentsValidation
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