Quantifying Qualitative Decisions

One of the hardest things that we face every day, in business and in our personal lives, is making good decisions. Which house should you buy? Which of these seventeen enterprise software package enhancements should we prioritize and dedicate resources to? Which platform should we use to develop our app? Which of these UX designers is the best addition to our team? The decisions must account for many different factors, and multiple stakeholders bring differing priorities to the table. These decisions are challenging because they are qualitative in nature.

I’ve developed an approach that engages the participants in a decision-making process. It helps them prioritize and evaluate the various possibilities, resulting in a quantified outcome. Based in kanban, it’s quick to set up and easy to facilitate, and the participatory nature of the process generates buy-in and acceptance of the outcome. It also leaves a paper trail that satisfies the questions the business will ask. I will walk you through the method and show you a few examples. We’ll discuss some variations based on your setting and the type of decision you’re making, and then I will field questions from the audience.