Assumptionswhere

Assumptionswhere is a conceptual framework and analytical practice for identifying and locating implicit assumptions within reasoning, communication, or system design. The term emphasizes not only what assumptions are made but also where they operate—across contexts, stakeholders, technical layers, or decision points. By mapping assumptions to specific places in a process or argument, practitioners aim to make implicit beliefs explicit and assess their validity and impact.

Developed informally in interdisciplinary settings, assumptionswhere draws on traditions from critical thinking, requirements engineering, and risk analysis. It typically involves steps such as cataloging statements or requirements, tagging implicit premises, tracing their provenance, and evaluating consequences if the assumptions prove false. Techniques may include stakeholder interviews, scenario analysis, and dependency diagrams.

Assumptionswhere is applied in policy evaluation, software development, organizational strategy, and research design. In these domains it helps teams anticipate failure modes, reduce miscommunication, and design more robust systems by revealing hidden dependencies and contested premises. The approach is also used in education to teach reflective reasoning and argument analysis.

Critiques of assumptionswhere note that exhaustive identification of assumptions can be time-consuming and may create false certainty if treated mechanistically. Its effectiveness depends on the skill of participants and the inclusiveness of perspectives considered. Related concepts include assumptions analysis, cognitive bias mitigation, and root cause analysis.