The Decision Matrix

I stumbled upon this after being briefed by my colleague and did a bit of research on the real thing.

Truth is I stumbled upon this quite some time ago.But only a few days back I was required to use this to convince my solution choice.

What is a decision matrix? In simple words, you have your rows and columns. For the rows you list down the factors that will impact your choices. For the columns you list down the ideas/solution that comes out from a group brainstorming.

Ideas should not be challenged on the spot. It hinders creativity. So every idea will add on to your columns until you or your group run out of ideas. Then only you let each idea run through the decision matrix against the vital factors or parameters.

To further improve decision making, each factor an idea perform can be rated or quantify in numbers. For example one of your solutions of saving money would be carpooling. In terms of saving money you will safe half of your expenses. If you have a score of 1-5, carpooling will give you a score of 3 (mid-range). If you were to take public transport everytime, and the fare is much much cheaper, you will have a score of probably 4 to5.

After tabulating all the scores from each category, not only we see the best solution out of all the choices, we are also comparing each idea side by side,  with a very clear visibility on the difference. Plus it also serves as a good log book attachments for record keeping purposes.

Decision Matrix come in many forms and customization. The trick is to understand the basics so that drafting your own personalized template is much more easier.

Depending on the issue or problems, decision matrix can be in various forms. But the main backbone of it, which is comparing an idea against a series of factors is always there.

How do you make your decisions and explain it to others?