RESULT OBTAINED
Canonical method
Strategic decision matrix: comparing options without hiding the renunciations
What must be established
A useful analysis keeps its controls visible.
- 01
Describe genuinely distinct options, including the status quo and the renunciations attached to them.
- 02
Define each criterion, its unit, its source, its weight and what a missing data point means.
- 03
Test whether a reasonable weighting or assumption reverses the ranking before formulating a recommendation.
Decision reference
Make the next choice more explicit.
DECISION SUPPORTED
Which option to choose when several criteria matter, without mistaking a score for evidence?
DELIVERABLE TO KEEP
A conditional recommendation, accompanied by the ranking, the missing evidence, the objections and the rule that will reopen the decision.
NEXT ELEMENT TO EXAMINE
Strategic decisionExplore →Start with the options and the renunciations
Before any score, each option must answer the same question, over the same horizon and with the same scope. The status quo is an option: removing it often amounts to hiding the cost of not acting.
- Option and scope
- Status quo
- Resources committed
- Renunciation
Make the scoring convention verifiable
A score can be interpreted only if the scale, the unit, the date and the source are explicit. Weightings express stated preferences or constraints; they must not be presented as facts.
- Distinct criterion
- Documented scale
- Stated weight
- Evidence or assumption
Test robustness before the committee
Redo the calculation with a reasonably different weight, an uncertain data point or a contradictory source. If the first ranking tips over, the result becomes a question to examine, not a firm recommendation.
- Sensitivity scenario
- Stable or unstable ranking
- Credible objection
- Review threshold
Resources
Reuse the method and verify its foundations.
- UK Government, The AQuA Book (opens in a new tab)Official guide on assumptions, uncertainty, validation and proportionate assurance of analyses.
- European Commission, JRC Sensitivity Analysis (opens in a new tab)Institutional reference on the sensitivity analysis of models and the influence of assumptions.
MOVE FROM ANALYSIS TO YOUR DECISION
Produce a testable decision mandate
MOVE FROM ANALYSIS TO YOUR DECISION
Produce a testable decision mandate
RETURN TO THE DECISION SYSTEM
See the canonical definition of marketing strategy→