DECISION MATRIX. Also called: Pugh matrix, decision grid, selection matrix or grid, problem matrix, problem selection matrix, opportunity analysis, solution matrix, criteria rating form, criteria-based matrix
A decision matrix evaluates and prioritizes a list of options and is a decision-making tool. The team first establishes a list of weighted criteria and then evaluates each option against those criteria. This is a variation of the L-shaped matrix.
WHEN TO USE A DECISION MATRIX
- When a list of options must be narrowed to one choice
- When the decision must be made on the basis of several criteria
- After a list of options has been reduced to a manageable number by list reduction
Typical situations are:
- When one improvement opportunity or problem must be selected to work on
- When only one solution or problem-solving approach can be implemented
- When only one new product can be developed
DECISION MATRIX PROCEDURE
- Brainstorm the evaluation criteria appropriate to the situation. If possible, involve customers in this process.
- Discuss and refine the list of criteria. Identify any criteria that must be included and any that must not be included. Reduce the list of criteria to those that the team believes are most important. Tools such as list reduction and multivoting may be useful.
- Assign a relative weight to each criterion, based on how important that criterion is to the situation. This can be done in two ways:
- By distributing 10 points among the criteria, based on team discussion and consensus.
- By each member assigning weights, then the numbers for each criterion for a composite team weighting.
- Draw an L-shaped matrix. Write the criteria and their weights as labels along one edge and the list of options along the other edge. Typically, the group with fewer items occupies the vertical edge.
- Evaluate each choice against the criteria. There are three ways to do this:
Method 1: Establish a rating scale for each criterion. Some options are:
- 1, 2, 3 (1 = slight extent, 2 = some extent, 3 = great extent)
- 1, 2, 3 (1 = low, 2 = medium, 3 = high)
- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (1 = little to 5 = great)
- 1, 4, 9 (1 = low, 4 = moderate, 9 = high)
It is important that your rating scales are consistent. Word your criteria and set the scales so that the high end of the scale (5 or 3) is always the rating that would tend to make you select that option: greatest impact on customers, greatest importance, least difficulty, greatest likelihood of success.Method 2: For each criterion, rank-order all options according to how well each meets the criterion. Number them with 1 being the option that is least desirable according to that criterion.
Method 3 (Pugh matrix): Establish a baseline, which may be one of the alternatives or the current product or service. For each criterion, rate each other alternative in comparison to the baseline, using scores of worse (-1), same (0), or better (+1). Finer rating scales can be used, such as 2, 1, 0, -1, -2 for a five-point scale or 3, 2, 1, 0, -1, -2, -3 for a seven-point scale. Again, be sure that positive numbers reflect desirable ratings.
- Multiply each option’s rating by the weight. Add the points for each option. The option with the highest score will not necessarily be the one to choose, but the relative scores can generate meaningful discussion and lead the team toward consensus
DECISION MATRIX EXAMPLE
Figure 1 shows a decision matrix used by the customer service team at the Parisian Experience restaurant to decide which aspect of the overall problem of "long wait time" to tackle first. The problems they identified are customers waiting for the host, the waiter, the food, and the check.
The criteria they identified are "Customer pain" (how much does this negatively affect the customer?), "Ease to solve," "Effect on other systems," and "Speed to solve." Originally, the criteria "Ease to solve" was written as "Difficulty to solve," but that wording reversed the rating scale. With the current wording, a high rating on each criterion defines a state that would encourage selecting the problem: high customer pain, very easy to solve, high effect on other systems, and quick solution.
Figure 1: Decision Matrix Example
"Customer pain" has been weighted with 5 points, showing that the team considers it by far the most important criterion, compared to 1 or 2 points for the others.
The team chose a rating scale of high = 3, medium = 2, and low = 1 and used it for the problem. "Customers wait for food." In this example, the customer pain is medium (2), because the restaurant ambiance is nice. This problem would not be easy to solve (low ease = 1), as it involves both waiters and kitchen staff. The effect on other systems is medium (2), because waiters have to make several trips to the kitchen. The problem will take a while to solve (low speed = 1), as the kitchen is cramped and inflexible.
Each rating is multiplied by the weight for that criterion. For example, "Customer pain" (weight of 5) for "Customers wait for host" rates high (3) for a score of 15. The scores are added across the rows to obtain a total for each problem. "Customers wait for host" has the highest score at 28. Since the next highest score is 18, the host problem probably should be addressed first.
DECISION MATRIX CONSIDERATIONS
- A very long list of options can first be shortened with a tool such as list reduction or multivoting.
- Criteria that are often used fall under the general categories of effectiveness, feasibility, capability, cost, time required, and support or enthusiasm (of team and of others). Other commonly used criteria include:
For selecting a problem or an improvement opportunity:
- Within control of the team
- Financial payback
- Resources required (e.g., money, people)
- Customer pain caused by the problem
- Urgency of problem
- Team interest or buy-in
- Effect on other systems
- Management interest or support
- Difficulty of solving
- Time required to solve
For selecting a solution:- Root causes addressed by this solution
- Extent of resolution of problem
- Cost to implement (e.g., money, time)
- Return on investment; availability of resources (e.g., people, time)
- Ease of implementation
- Time until solution is fully implemented
- Cost to maintain (e.g., money, time)
- Ease of maintenance
- Support or opposition to the solution
- Enthusiasm by team members
- Team control of the solution
- Safety, health, or environmental factors
- Training factors
- Potential effects on other systems
- Potential effects on customers or suppliers
- Value to customer
- Potential problems during implementation
- Potential negative consequences
Additional considerations
- While a decision matrix can be used to compare opinions, it is better used to summarize data that have been collected about the various criteria when possible.
- Sub-teams can be formed to collect data on the various criteria.
- Several criteria for selecting a problem or improvement opportunity require guesses about the ultimate solution. For example: evaluating resources required, payback, difficulty to solve, and time required to solve. Therefore, your rating of the options will be only as good as your assumptions about the solutions.
- It’s critical that the high end of the criteria scale (5 or 3) always is the end you would want to choose. Criteria such as cost, resource use and difficulty can cause confusion (for example, low cost is highly desirable). Avoid this by rewording your criteria: Say "low cost" instead of "cost"; "ease" instead of "difficulty." Or, in the matrix column headings, write what generates low and high ratings. For example:
Importance | Cost | Difficulty |
low = 1 high = 5 | high = 1 low = 5 | high = 1 low = 5 |
- If individuals on the team assign different ratings to the same criterion, discuss until the team arrives at a consensus. Do not average the ratings or vote for the most popular one.
- In some versions of this tool, the sum of the unweighted scores is also calculated and both totals are studied for guidance toward a decision.
- When this tool is used to choose a plan, solution, or new product, results can be used to improve options. An option that ranks highly overall but has low scores on criteria A and B can be modified with ideas from options that score well on A and B. This combining and improving can be done for every option, and then the decision matrix used again to evaluate the new options.
https://asq.org/quality-resources/decision-matrix
Criteria Rating Form, Weighted Ranking
Use the criteria rating form when:
- You have to select among several alternatives
- You want to make a decision objectively
- You want your group to agree on a decision
1 Start the session and list the alternatives available
2 Brainstorm decision criteria
You will be judging your alternatives against what you feel are the most important qualities each one should have. These qualities are called decision criteria. Brainstorming may be a useful way for a group to agree appropriate criteria.
3 Determine the relative importance of each criterion.
Rank the criteria and assign a relative importance (weight) to each. The total of the assigned weights should equal 100.
4 Establish a rating scale; rate the alternatives.
A suitable rating scale might be, for instance: 1= low, 10=high. each alternative should be weighed against each criterion, using the same scale for each.
5 Calculate the final score.
Multiply the weight for each alternative by the score and write this in brackets. Add up the numbers in brackets for each alternative and write the sums in the appropriate total boxes. Add any summary comments in the appropriate summary box.
6 Select the best alternative.
Select the alternative with the highest score. this alternative may not be the one ultimately chosen - if the group disagrees with the choice, they should review the weighting of the criteria and make the necessary changes. if necessary, repeat the process.
References
- Chang, RY., and Niedzwiecki, ME., "Continuous Improvement Tools", Volume 1. 1993, 1995. Kogan Page Ltd. London
https://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/
Criteria rating form
Criteria rating forms help
individuals and groups decide the best option or options among a group of
options. In problem solving groups, they are often used in problem and
solutions selection.
The criteria rating form can be used anytime there are criteria
that will be used to inform the decision making process. It is often used by interview teams when
selecting a candidate for any position or when selecting new
materials/textbooks.
1. The criteria
are selected by the group and a rating scale is defined. In most cases a scale of 1 to 5 is used with
5 being the most desirable.
2. Weights are
assigned to each criteria depending on its importance relative to the other
criteria.
3. Each potential
solution is also given a rating for each criterion, and the rating is
multiplied by the weight of the criterion.
4. The weighted
ratings are totaled. In this case, a 5
on the scale was most desirable so the solution with the highest total is
judged the best option. (I typically use
the .5 to 2.0 rating scale.)
Remember that this is only a tool to collect data so be sure to discuss
the final outcome before making the final decision, especially if the ratings
are close.
Criteria Rating Solutions
There are a number of general criteria that can be considered when
judging solutions. What other criteria
might you consider. Criteria are
personalized to each process.
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Control
Is the group in a position to implement the solution?
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Effectiveness To what extend
does the solution solve the problem?
(How likely is it to achieve the desired state?)
•
Customer
Satisfaction Will the solution result in increased satisfaction of parents,
community members, staff, students, Central Office or others?
•
Time How long will it take to implement
the solution? (Some solutions may take less time than others.)
•
Cost of Quality To what extent
will the solution reduce the cost of non-conformance?
•
Cost Are the financial resources available
to support the initiative?
•
Acceptability Will those
responsible for implementing the solution accept the solution?
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Weighting
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Potential Solutions
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Brainstorm
Criteria
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.5 -`- 2.0
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1
2 3 4 5
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1
2 3 4 5
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1
2 3 4 5
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1
2 3 4 5
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1
2 3 4 5
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1
2 3 4 5
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1
2 3 4 5
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TOTAL
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Evaluating
Alternatives: Criteria Rating (Grid
Analysis)
The Criteria Rating Matrix,
or Grid Analysis, is a tool for objectively reviewing each of your solution options
as related to the various criteria you need to consider in order to come to a
decision about which solution to implement
For this analysis, list
your options as rows on a table, and the criteria you need to consider as
columns. Each option is then rated by
how well it satisfies each criterion
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Criteria:
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A
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B
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C
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D
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E
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Total
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Option 1
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Option 2
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Option 3
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Steps:
- List the alternatives you are considering.
- Brainstorm decision criteria (remember, identify all
possibilities before critiquing them).
- Discuss the suggested criteria.
ü Is this criterion
clear & unmistakable in its meaning?
ü Will this criterion be
observable?
- Narrow the list of criteria to 3-6 criteria.
- Establish a rating scale (e.g., 0-5 or 1-10).
- Rate each of the alternatives on each of the
criteria.
- Calculate the final score.
Select
the best alternative
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Commonly Used Criteria
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·
Ease
of implementation
·
Cost
·
Ability
to meet customer requirements
·
Equipment/resources
required
·
Resource
Availability
·
Lowest
Risk
·
Fastest
to implement
·
Long-term
workability
·
Effective
resource use
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·
Impact
on employee morale
·
Level
of complexity
·
Human
resources time required
·
Time
required for implementation
·
Degree
of control by the team
·
Political
support
·
Disruption
caused by change
·
Impact
on the problem (high, medium, low)
·
Resistance
of Stakeholders
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Evaluating Alternatives: Criteria Rating (Grid Analysis)
Example:
A kayaking enthusiast, Patrick, is getting ready to buy a new car. He needs one that will carry his kayak but will also be good for business travel. He has always loved and wanted a convertible sports car. So far, no one car he has looked at seems to fit all three criteria.
The vehicles Patrick is considering are an SUV/4x4, a comfortable 'family car', a station wagon, and a convertible sports car. His decision criteria are cost, ability to carry a kayak safely, ability to store his equipment securely, comfort over long distances, attractive look, and fun.
Patrick draws up a table with the vehicle options and the decision criteria as shown below. He then scores each option, 0-5, by how well it satisfies each criterion. At this point he does not consider the relative weights of the factors
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Criteria/Factors:
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Cost
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Kayak
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Storage
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Comfort
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Fun
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Look
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Total
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Sports Car
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1
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0
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0
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2
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5
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5
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13
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SUV/4x4
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2
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5
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4
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4
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4
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4
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23
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Family Car
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3
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2
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1
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4
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0
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0
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10
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Station Wagon
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4
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5
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5
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5
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1
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1
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21
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Based
on this calculation, Patrick should buy the
___________________________
Evaluating Alternatives: Criteria Rating (Grid Analysis)
Weighted Criteria Rating
In many situations we also want to ask ourselves, “Are some of the criteria more important than others?” Essentially, what you are exploring is the relative importance of each criterion. For example, could it be that carrying the kayak and cost are more important to Patrick than comfort and look?
If that is the case, then you will want to weight the criteria, i.e. a weighted criteria rating matrix
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Factors/ Criteria:
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A
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B
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C
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D
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E
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Total
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WEIGHTS:
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#
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#
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#
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#
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#
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Option 1
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Rating X weight
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Rating X weight
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Rating X weight
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Rating X weight
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Rating X weight
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Option 2
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Rating X weight
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Rating X weight
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Rating X weight
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Rating X weight
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Rating X weight
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Option 3
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Rating X weight
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Rating X weight
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Rating X weight
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Rating X weight
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Rating X weight
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Steps:
1. List the alternatives
you are considering.
2. Brainstorm decision
criteria (remember, identify all possibilities before critiquing them).
3. Discuss the suggested
criteria.
4. Narrow the list of
criteria to 3-6 criteria that will be most appropriate for identifying the best
solution.
5. Determine the relative
importance of the criteria & assign weights.
6. Establish a rating scale.
7. Rate each of the
alternatives on each of the criteria.
8. Calculate the final
score (remember to multiply the rating by the criterion’s weight).
9. Select the best
alternative.
Back to our Example:
Patrick reflects on this decision a bit more and
realizes that, in fact, the criteria are not equally important to him. So he
decides to determine the relative weights for each of the criteria and
recalculates using the ratings he previously identified
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Factors:
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Cost
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Kayak
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Storage
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Comfort
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Fun
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Look
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Total
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Weights:
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5
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5
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3
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4
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2
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3
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Sports Car
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5
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0
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0
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8
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10
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15
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38
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SUV/4x4
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10
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25
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12
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16
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8
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12
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83
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Family Car
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15
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10
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3
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16
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0
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0
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44
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Station Wagon
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20
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25
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15
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20
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2
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3
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85
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Based on this calculation, Patrick should buy the ___________________________.
The
following is a sample of a 5 Point Numerical / Narrative Rating Scale including
sample narrative ratings and definitions for each point value on the scale.
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Scale
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Rating
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Definitions (Choose and/or Modify as Appropriate)
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5
points (Pass)
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Excellent.
Exceptional
Mastery.
Much more than acceptable.
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Should
ensure extremely effective performance.
Significantly above criteria for successful job performance.
Surpassed expectations.
Reserved for the exemplary set of skills that yield a particularly
sophisticated approach to handling the situation.
Meets all major / essential / core criteria or acceptable equivalents and met
three or more additional criteria.
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4
points
(Pass)
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Very
Good.
Full Performance Behaviours.
Above average.
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More
than adequate for effective performance
Generally exceeds criteria relative to quality and quantity of behaviour
required for successful job performance.
Meets all of the major / essential / core criteria or acceptable equivalents
and several of the minor / addiitional criteria.
No major deficiencies exist in the areas assessed. Consistently demonstrated
better than average level of performance.
Describes / demonstrates the full range of skills appropriate for handling
the situation and the desired result, or outcome is obtained.
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3
points
(Pass)
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Good.
Acceptable.
Satisfactory
Average
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Should
be adequate for effective performance.
Meets criteria relative to quality and quantity of behaviour required for
successful job performance.
Meets several of the major / essential / core criteria one or two of the
minor / additional criteria or acceptable equivalents.
Describes / demonstrates a sufficient range of skills for handling the
situation and the desired outcome is obtained.
Some of the major and minor criteria were met; some deficiencies exist
in the areas assessed but none of major concern.
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2
points
(Fail)
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Weak.
Less than Acceptable
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Insufficient
for performance requirements.
Generally does not meet criteria relative to quality and quantity of
behaviour required for successful job performance e.g. meets half or less of
criteria.
Does not describe / demonstrate a sufficient range of skills appropriate for
handling of the situation, or describes plausible but inappropriate
behaviours for handling the situation or the desired result or outcome
is not obtained.
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0
– 1 point
(Fail)
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Unacceptable.
Poor.
Much less than acceptable
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Significantly
below criteria required for successful job performance.
Few or no criteria met.
Many deficiencies.
A major problem exists.
No answer or inappropriate answer.
Describes/demonstrates
counter-productive behaviours that have negative outcomes or consequences
(make the situation worse).
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