DECISION MATRIX
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We are faced with countless decisions every day – what clothes to wear, what bus to take to school, what to eat for lunch – the list goes on. Some decisions are more challenging and some have more at stake if you make the wrong decision. This decision matrix tool allows you to use a process to make an effective and more robust decision.
So how do you ensure you make the best strategic decision at the time? It starts by reflecting on the factors that relate to the decision rather than the decision options themselves. For instance if your focus for the course was purchasing a new car, the decision matrix tool may be helpful to make a decision of what car to buy and the factors that relate to this decision could be things such as price, style, safety, economy and speed.
When you start down this process you will find that it is rare that the factors that influence your decision are weighted equally. For instance, the price of a car may have a bigger influence on a decision as opposed to the style of the car. For selecting a holiday, the factors may be the weather, activities at the destination, cost and travel time. Taking all these aspects into consideration by completing the decision matrix process will ensure a much more robust decision is made.
The decision matrix can also be used to enable a group of people to make an effective decision and document their reasoning in making that decision. This is a much more effective process than what typically happens in a group situation where the most vocal person's point of view will be the option that is chosen. Steps for using the decision matrix:
Step 1. Establish a list at least 3 alternatives and enter them across the top of the matrix.Step 2. Brainstorm the Factors that would influence the selection of the alternatives.Step 3. You can select as many selection Factors as you like but we suggest no more than ten. In the worksheet we have allowed up to five.Step 4. Having chosen the selection Factors, you now need to weigh them individually to jointly total 100.Step 5. With the weighting in place you can now go ahead and score each of the selected Alternatives against each Factor. Remember that your score for each Alternative cannot exceed the weighting you have allocated to the selection Factor. It is recommended that your first Alternative be used as your benchmark for scoring the others and rated at 50% of the allocated weight. We strongly suggest you work across the table first and then down. This enables you to concentrate and focus on one important Factor at a time and measure and weigh against all the Alternatives. It's a lot easier this way.Step 6. Total all the scores.Step 7. Discuss and agree based on the scores what is the best decision to be made.
When you start down this process you will find that it is rare that the factors that influence your decision are weighted equally. For instance, the price of a car may have a bigger influence on a decision as opposed to the style of the car. For selecting a holiday, the factors may be the weather, activities at the destination, cost and travel time. Taking all these aspects into consideration by completing the decision matrix process will ensure a much more robust decision is made.
The decision matrix can also be used to enable a group of people to make an effective decision and document their reasoning in making that decision. This is a much more effective process than what typically happens in a group situation where the most vocal person's point of view will be the option that is chosen. Steps for using the decision matrix:
Step 1. Establish a list at least 3 alternatives and enter them across the top of the matrix.Step 2. Brainstorm the Factors that would influence the selection of the alternatives.Step 3. You can select as many selection Factors as you like but we suggest no more than ten. In the worksheet we have allowed up to five.Step 4. Having chosen the selection Factors, you now need to weigh them individually to jointly total 100.Step 5. With the weighting in place you can now go ahead and score each of the selected Alternatives against each Factor. Remember that your score for each Alternative cannot exceed the weighting you have allocated to the selection Factor. It is recommended that your first Alternative be used as your benchmark for scoring the others and rated at 50% of the allocated weight. We strongly suggest you work across the table first and then down. This enables you to concentrate and focus on one important Factor at a time and measure and weigh against all the Alternatives. It's a lot easier this way.Step 6. Total all the scores.Step 7. Discuss and agree based on the scores what is the best decision to be made.