What is the decision making process?

I basically answered this question the other day .... wait ....

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The decision making process has a number of steps. You should do them in order, but consider all of them all the way through the process.

1) Identify the question.  What is the decision you are being asked to make?

2) Check that you are the best person to make the decision.  Reflect on your own preconceptions and prejudices. 

3) Collect the basic information.  How much time do you have to decide? What's the background?  How and why did this decision arise?  Who are the best people to advise you?

4) Create a list of options. These are possible courses of action: doing nothing is usually one of them.

5) Investigate and analyse the options.  How much will each one cost?   What are its consequences?  What are the consequences of not taking it?  What are the risks?  Who else will be affected? 

6) Eliminate unsuitable or unattractive options to leave a short list. 

7) If you've done all of the above correctly, congratulations!  You've done better than most people.  Now you can actually make the decision.

It is often the case that the actual decision is relatively easy IF

    a) you truly, profoundly understand the problem/question and

    b) you genuinely have all the information at your disposal

It is also often the case that the more difficult a decision is to make, the less it matters. 

- Would you prefer chocolate ice cream or strawberry = very hard decision, doesn't really matter

- Would you prefer chocolate ice cream or poisonous mushrooms = easy decision, matters a lot

There is no conceptual difference between major decisions taken by people in a senior role, and minor decisions taken by people in a junior role.  The difference is in the magnitude of the consequences.  If you get it badly wrong as a senior executive then whole whole company can go bust.   You also tend to have more information, more options and more time to decide, all of which make it harder.

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Step 1: Identify the decision to be made. You realize that a decision must be made. You then go through an internal process of trying to define clearly the nature of the decision you must make. This first step is a very important one.

Step 2: Gather relevant information. Most decisions require collecting pertinent information. The real trick in this step is to know what information is needed, the best sources of this information, and how to go about getting it. Some information must be sought from within yourself through a process of self-assessment; other information must be sought from outside yourself-from books, people, and a variety of other sources. This step, therefore, involves both internal and external “work”.

Step 3: Identify alternatives. Through the process of collecting information you will probably identify several possible paths of action, or alternatives. You may also use your imagination and information to construct new alternatives. In this step of the decision-making process, you will list all possible and desirable alternatives.

Step 4: Weigh evidence. In this step, you draw on your information and emotions to imagine what it would be like if you carried out each of the alternatives to the end. You must evaluate whether the need identified in Step 1 would be helped or solved through the use of each alternative. In going through this difficult internal process, you begin to favor certain alternatives which appear to have higher potential for reaching your goal. Eventually you are able to place the alternatives in priority order, based upon your own value system.

Step 5: Choose among alternatives. Once you have weighed all the evidence, you are ready to select the alternative which seems to be best suited to you. You may even choose a combination of alternatives. Your choice in Step 5 may very likely be the same or similar to the alternative you placed at the top of your list at the end of Step 4.

Step 6: Take action. You now take some positive action which begins to implement the alternative you chose in Step 5.

Step 7: Review decision and consequences. In the last step you experience the results of your decision and evaluate whether or not it has “solved” the need you identified in Step 1. If it has, you may stay with this decision for some period of time. If the decision has not resolved the identified need, you may repeat certain steps of the process in order to make a new decision. You may, for example, gather more detailed or somewhat different information or discover additional alternatives on which to base your decision.

For Management decisions:

1-Diagnose the problem

2- Data and information collection

3- Identify and evaluate available solutions

4- Choosing the right solution to the problem

5- Follow-up implementation of the resolution and evaluation

1) For large companies

- The complexity of the degree of the problem raised. More key variables (elements of the problem) are easy to identify and quantify, more they are linearly related to each other, more the problem appears simple to formulate. In contrast, more the variables are difficult to identify, are qualitative in nature, are interactive, more the formulation can be described as complex.

- The degree of certainty and uncertainty in the nature of the choice to make, the kind of decision to take.Some decisions are relating to a specific choice (decide to do or not do, to decide the time, the qunatite etc.). Other decisions based on imprecise choices, broader, more nuanced.

2) For small companies

- Reactive and proactive processes:

The reactive process results from a response to a stimulus (a new fact in the environment).

The proactive process is to create this new development, including innovation, with a more aggressive attitude than defensive, etc.

- Emergent  and deliberated processes:

The deliberated process results of a plan, a goal, a clear vision for a while.

The emergent process (incremental) results from a gradual adaptation to stimili or changing conditions (the change could be released by the company itself).

Thanks for the invitation , 

I agree with answers given previously .

7 Steps in Decision Making

1 Identify a problem or opportunity

·         The first step is to recognise a problem or to see opportunities that may be worthwhile.

·         Will it really make a difference to our customers?

·         How worthwhile will it be to solve this problem or realise this opportunity?

2 Gather information

·         What is relevant and what is not relevant to the decision?

·         What do you need to know before you can make a decision, or that will help you make the right one?

·         Who knows, who can help, who has the power and influence to make this happen (or to stop it)?

3 Analyze the situation

·         What alternative courses of action may be available to you?

·         What different interpretations of the data may be possible?

4 Develop options

·         Generate several possible options.

·         Be creative and positive.

·         Ask “what if” questions.

·         How would you like your situation to be?

5 Evaluate alternatives

·         What criteria should you use to evaluate?

·         Evaluate for feasibility, acceptability and desirability.

·         Which alternative will best achieve your objectives?

6 Select a preferred alternative

·         Explore the provisional preferred alternative for future possible adverse consequences.

·         What problems might it create?

·         What are the risks of making this decision?

7 Act on the decision

·         Put a plan in place to implement the decision.

·         Have you allocated resources to implement?

·         Is the decision accepted and supported by colleagues?

·         Are they committed to making the decision work?

I agree with colleagues Answers

thanks for the invitation

Decision-making is the most important process in the project

I too agree with the answers....... 

it depend on the situation , but mostly the following :

- check the action in similar stories.

- brainstorming and writing.

- make key points to measure and evaluate that decision in each point.

- and consider the scenario planning concept

Thanks for your invitation, Agree with experts answers.

The process of sufficiently reducing uncertainty and doubt about alternatives to allow a reasonable choice to be made from among them