Consider alternative solutions

It is important to create more than one solution as there is hardly ever a perfect – or no brainer –solution. If that were the case, it would have already been implemented. And remind yourself to check back that all alternative solutions match the issue you want to solve. Not seldomly, solutions are being proposed that are brilliant, but do not solve the original issue. 

Define criteria for decision making

A second and key step is to identify the criteria for decision making. Identifying criteria is often a substantial challenge as criteria are seldomly written down and are often highly irrational. It requires determination and many conversations and is a crucial step that cannot be missed. In situations where some criteria are more important than other criteria, you can determine weighting factors per criterium. This will create a weighted assessment of all alternatives. 

Often it is enough to look at the impact of a solution and the effort required to implement the solution. For more complex decisions it is recommended to identify decision criteria beside effort and impact. 

IMPACT EFFORT MATRIX 

A simple way to decide which of the solutions is the best alternative is to fill out an impact effort matrix. This decision-making tool assists people to manage their time more efficiently. An organization, team, or individual assesses activities based on the level of effort required and the potential impact or benefits they will have. 

The result is a visual representation of where best to assign time and resources. Activities fall into one of four categories: 

• Quick wins – Give the best return based on the effort. 
• Major projects – Provide long term returns but may be more complex to execute. 
• Fill ins – Don’t require a lot of effort but neither do they offer many benefits. 
• Time wasters – Time-consuming solutions with low impact that should be avoided. 

The impact effort matrix is also referred to as an action priority matrix. 

Why use an impact effort matrix? 

An impact effort analysis: 

• Rapidly identifies what solutions you should focus on, along with the ones you should ignore. 
• Helps optimize limited time and resources. 
• Provides time to reflect on a range of strategies and find the most efficient path to achieve goals and reduce wasted time and effort 
• Helps get projects back on track, aligns team priorities, and identify the best solutions to a problem. 

DECISION MAKING CRITERIA 

The decision criteria in a business setting are those variables or characteristics that are important to the organization making the decision. 

The decision criteria should be measurable and should be within scope of the problem you are trying to solve.  These are some typical decision criteria: 

1. Ease of implementation 
2. Cost 
3. Ease of modification/scalability/flexibility 
4. Employee morale 
5. Risk levels 
6. Cost savings 
7. Increase in sales or market share 
8. Return on investment 
9. Similarity to existing organization products 
10. Increase in customer satisfaction 

In situations where some criteria are more important than other criteria, you can determine weighting factors per criterium. This will create a weighted assessment of all alternatives. 

Let’s explore this by using an example of trying to decide which car to buy. What is important to us that will help us determine which car will best fit our situation? Is it style, comfort, noise, gas mileage, speed, manual/transmission, accessibility, price, payment terms available, reliability…? 

Following a structured decision-making process will not only enable faster decision-making, but it also improves the probability that you will get a consensus on the decision. Consensus is realized when the entire group agrees to support the decision, even if they do not totally agree with it. When getting a group to make a decision, an open discussion with logical presentation of the decision criteria will drive the group toward consensus. 

When searching for criteria for decision making, it is advised to check back regularly with decision makers: “So can we agree that the key criteria for decision making are ….” 

Assess the solution against the criteria

The next step is to assess the solutions against the criteria. Although this approach is objective and rational, it is often a highly intuitive process. We always recommend to make these assessments in teams through dialogue, which increases the commitment for the outcome of the assessment. 

Propose the Solution

The alternative solutions that rates the highest is the one that is going to be proposed. Please be aware this is then not always the solution that is being selected. As said, decision making is not always a rational process. The entire process that you created will however lead to a decision and that is the main objective of the entire process.