Compare two design options and pick one

Two mockups, a stalled debate, and a decision due today.

I have two design options. Help me choose.

1. State the decision criteria first, before looking at either option. Derive them from the user's goal and our constraints, and put them in priority order.
2. Score each option against each criterion, with a sentence of reasoning. No scores without reasoning.
3. Name the assumption each option depends on to be the right answer.
4. Describe the user for whom the losing option is genuinely better.
5. Give a recommendation, not a balanced summary. If it is close, say it is close and still pick.
6. Say what we could test cheaply to settle it, and whether that is worth the delay.

Do not propose a third option that merges both unless the merge is genuinely coherent on its own terms.

Option A:


Option B:

Briefs and decisions. The work around the design: turning a request into a brief, choosing between options, writing down why.