Because it works!
Perhaps you have noticed that we have sample decisions in DecisionPlanner. These exist so you can get an idea of how a decision looks in the system – and the reporting you can get once all the information is entered. I entered the Delivery Van sample earlier this week. I was trying to decide which delivery van to buy for a small business. I did real research into my three alternatives: Chevy Express, Ford Econoline, and the Dodge Sprinter. My gut feel was that the Dodge Sprinter would be my choice. Being a bit of a car geek, I liked it because it was the newest design – it looked cool. As I was entering the information into DecisionPlanner I felt it was the best choice too. It seemed that it had the right answer for each of my factors. Imagine my surprise when I ran the Alternative Recommendations Report and it showed me that the Chevy Express was my best choice. DecisionPlanner showed me that my first hunch isn’t always the right one and it also countered my emotional, geeky bias to go with the “cooler” vehicle.
Would you like some help with decision making? Try DecisionPlanner at www.yoopersoft.com.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Friday, August 24, 2007
Factors
Factors are the specific measures that you will use to determine which alternative is your best choice. It is important to identify all the factors relevant to your decision if you want to do a thorough job. While it may be tempting to say that you cannot have too many factors, that may not be true. Too many factors may make the decision process so overwhelming that you may not get through it. However, irrelevant factors have a way of exposing themselves pretty early in the process. They may not be truly measurable, or the information required may not be available.
It is also important to rank each factor. Factors are not equal in their importance. Your decision process must take this into account. An alternative may “fail” a particular factor, but that factor may be so low in terms of importance that it does not rule out that alternative.
The factors in our college example might include: campus resources, cost, distance from home, faculty contact, financial assistance, graduation rate, student body diversity, urban / rural, housing options, internships, odds of entry, pressure, religious affiliation, reputation, safety, and sports.
Each factor has an associated desired value. In DecisionPlanner, these values have four different formats: descriptive, numeric, scale and Yes / No.
An example of a descriptive factor might be “color”. If you want a red car, then the alternative’s value has to match the word “red”. Descriptive factors need not be exact matches however. Descriptive factors generally require more analysis than the other formats.
The number, or numeric, format is easy to understand. In the home buying example, you want 3 bedrooms – no more, no less. The alternative must match this number. The numeric format does allow more flexibility than that though – you can set a minimum, a maximum, and an expected value. If it falls in the range – it passes.
The scale is used to express a subjective opinion in a numeric fashion. Scales allow DecisionPlanner to compare the rating of an alternative to an ideal value for that factor, while still allowing for some analysis.
Finally, the Yes / No option is the simplest of all. Either that factor passes, or it doesn’t.
Factors are a very important part of the decision making process. Take the time to figure out which are the most important and you will not regret it.
Would you like some help with decision making? Try DecisionPlanner at www.yoopersoft.com.
It is also important to rank each factor. Factors are not equal in their importance. Your decision process must take this into account. An alternative may “fail” a particular factor, but that factor may be so low in terms of importance that it does not rule out that alternative.
The factors in our college example might include: campus resources, cost, distance from home, faculty contact, financial assistance, graduation rate, student body diversity, urban / rural, housing options, internships, odds of entry, pressure, religious affiliation, reputation, safety, and sports.
Each factor has an associated desired value. In DecisionPlanner, these values have four different formats: descriptive, numeric, scale and Yes / No.
An example of a descriptive factor might be “color”. If you want a red car, then the alternative’s value has to match the word “red”. Descriptive factors need not be exact matches however. Descriptive factors generally require more analysis than the other formats.
The number, or numeric, format is easy to understand. In the home buying example, you want 3 bedrooms – no more, no less. The alternative must match this number. The numeric format does allow more flexibility than that though – you can set a minimum, a maximum, and an expected value. If it falls in the range – it passes.
The scale is used to express a subjective opinion in a numeric fashion. Scales allow DecisionPlanner to compare the rating of an alternative to an ideal value for that factor, while still allowing for some analysis.
Finally, the Yes / No option is the simplest of all. Either that factor passes, or it doesn’t.
Factors are a very important part of the decision making process. Take the time to figure out which are the most important and you will not regret it.
Would you like some help with decision making? Try DecisionPlanner at www.yoopersoft.com.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Objectives
Objectives are the desired end results of your decision. What is your vision of your life after you have made this decision? What are the concrete things you would like to have, or have happen, after you make this decision? These objectives can help guide you in deciding what criteria is most important in your decision.
For example, if I am choosing a college, perhaps one of my objectives is an active music scene, in addition to a quality education. This would lead me to consider factors such as a venue for an “open mic night” or a music-oriented student dwelling. If you have thought about and identified your objectives as specifically as you can, you’ll have a better list of criteria to consider in your decision. The more relevant criteria, or factors, you have to evaluate will get you a more thorough analysis and reduce the uncertainty in your final decision.
Would you like some help with decision making? Try DecisionPlanner at www.yoopersoft.com.
For example, if I am choosing a college, perhaps one of my objectives is an active music scene, in addition to a quality education. This would lead me to consider factors such as a venue for an “open mic night” or a music-oriented student dwelling. If you have thought about and identified your objectives as specifically as you can, you’ll have a better list of criteria to consider in your decision. The more relevant criteria, or factors, you have to evaluate will get you a more thorough analysis and reduce the uncertainty in your final decision.
Would you like some help with decision making? Try DecisionPlanner at www.yoopersoft.com.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Perspectives
Every decision is influenced by others. Sometimes it’s other people; sometimes it is other organizational entities, like departments in a corporation. Take other’s opinions into account in your decision making process. It is valuable information. It doesn’t mean that you should let others make the decision for you, but an effective decision maker takes other’s views into account, even when they conflict.
For example, if you are choosing a college it may be that one of your choices has a very active fraternity environment. You can tell DecisionPlanner that and rate it as a “Pro” for that alternative’s factor. However, your parent may look at that same fact and rate it a “Con”. It’s valuable to know.
The current version of DecisionPlanner allows you to identify your perspectives. And, through the Notes field, you can enter their opinions on your decision. A future version will allow you to enter their opinion by factor – enabling them to rate an alternative’s factor separately from your rating (if it’s a subjective opinion on a scale from 1 to 5, for example, and not a fact) and also indicating whether that factor’s value is a “Pro” or a “Con”.
Would you like some help with decision making? Try DecisionPlanner at www.yoopersoft.com.
For example, if you are choosing a college it may be that one of your choices has a very active fraternity environment. You can tell DecisionPlanner that and rate it as a “Pro” for that alternative’s factor. However, your parent may look at that same fact and rate it a “Con”. It’s valuable to know.
The current version of DecisionPlanner allows you to identify your perspectives. And, through the Notes field, you can enter their opinions on your decision. A future version will allow you to enter their opinion by factor – enabling them to rate an alternative’s factor separately from your rating (if it’s a subjective opinion on a scale from 1 to 5, for example, and not a fact) and also indicating whether that factor’s value is a “Pro” or a “Con”.
Would you like some help with decision making? Try DecisionPlanner at www.yoopersoft.com.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Reducing Uncertainty
Why use a structured approach to decision making? Why use software to help you decide what to do?
The main benefit of any decision methodology is the reduction of uncertainty. Most people do not want the “system”, whether it is a method or a software program, to make the decision for them. They want reassurance that the decision they make is the right one. A method, such as DecisionPlanner, can walk you through the factors, the factor rankings, and the alternatives values to give you that reassurance that you have done a thorough job of analyzing the information available to you. DecisionPlanner does not decide for you. It shows you the best option based on the factors and actual alternative values you key into it.
Note that I said you could reduce the uncertainty in any decision with a thorough analysis, but I did not say that you could eliminate uncertainty. No method, or software, could possibly anticipate every variable and account for it. There will always be some degree of uncertainty, but through the use of a good method you can do your best to minimize it.
Would you like some help with decision making? Try DecisionPlanner at www.yoopersoft.com.
The main benefit of any decision methodology is the reduction of uncertainty. Most people do not want the “system”, whether it is a method or a software program, to make the decision for them. They want reassurance that the decision they make is the right one. A method, such as DecisionPlanner, can walk you through the factors, the factor rankings, and the alternatives values to give you that reassurance that you have done a thorough job of analyzing the information available to you. DecisionPlanner does not decide for you. It shows you the best option based on the factors and actual alternative values you key into it.
Note that I said you could reduce the uncertainty in any decision with a thorough analysis, but I did not say that you could eliminate uncertainty. No method, or software, could possibly anticipate every variable and account for it. There will always be some degree of uncertainty, but through the use of a good method you can do your best to minimize it.
Would you like some help with decision making? Try DecisionPlanner at www.yoopersoft.com.
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