Evaluate and select
It is primordial to first establish the selection criteria and divide them into two levels: the ‘must’ criteria and the ‘should ‘criteria.
All alternatives not meeting the ‘must’ requirements should be discarded. The remaining alternatives can then be measured against the more or less desirable ‘should’ criteria.
The consequences of implementing each alternative should be examined and a risk analysis should be conducted.
Risk assessment
A contradiction lies in the proverbs Look before you leap and He who hesitates is lost. Risk analysis then, is a fine balance. While most risk analysis methods rely on mathematical theories, while helpful in some cases, their applications is quite limited in the field of problem-solving.
Instead, try and weigh the risk to reward ratio, a particularly risky alternative might offer so high a reward that it could be worth selecting. However make sure that you do everything in your power to reduce that risk. In this situation, it is important to focus on experience, practice and expert advice. In brief, while risk can never be totally eliminated, the chosen alternative can go from a possibility of success to a probability of success.
Consequences assessment
Of course all consequences cannot be foreseen, but you should anticipate all the calculable consequences. This can be a time-consuming effort, but is essential in the decision making process in order to reduce the likelihood of making a bad decision because of a lack of method in the process.
All alternatives not meeting the ‘must’ requirements should be discarded. The remaining alternatives can then be measured against the more or less desirable ‘should’ criteria.
The consequences of implementing each alternative should be examined and a risk analysis should be conducted.
Risk assessment
A contradiction lies in the proverbs Look before you leap and He who hesitates is lost. Risk analysis then, is a fine balance. While most risk analysis methods rely on mathematical theories, while helpful in some cases, their applications is quite limited in the field of problem-solving.
Instead, try and weigh the risk to reward ratio, a particularly risky alternative might offer so high a reward that it could be worth selecting. However make sure that you do everything in your power to reduce that risk. In this situation, it is important to focus on experience, practice and expert advice. In brief, while risk can never be totally eliminated, the chosen alternative can go from a possibility of success to a probability of success.
Consequences assessment
Of course all consequences cannot be foreseen, but you should anticipate all the calculable consequences. This can be a time-consuming effort, but is essential in the decision making process in order to reduce the likelihood of making a bad decision because of a lack of method in the process.