Decision Matrix
A matrix lays out combinations of selected conditions or choices so each can be examined. Its coverage depends on which dimensions and possibilities you include.
THE IDEA
A decision matrix can organize a problem around two dimensions. List the possible values of one along the rows and the other along the columns, then examine each intersection.
For example, a manager could compare budget increases, unchanged budgets, and budget cuts with the choice to move offices or stay. Each cell represents a combination whose costs, benefits, and feasibility can be discussed.
Displaying the matrix during a meeting gives the group a shared structure. Check whether the chosen dimensions omit anything important; completing the matrix does not by itself establish that every possible outcome has been considered.
When to use it
Strategic planning: Analyzing business decisions based on different economic, competitive, and regulatory scenarios.
Project management: Mapping resource availability levels against task dependencies or timeline constraints.
Resource allocation: Evaluating the impact of budget changes on different departmental initiatives.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Budget and Office Space Planning
A manager compares budget outcomes—increase, maintain, or cut—with moving to a larger building or staying. A 3x2 matrix displays six combinations. The team can discuss each one and check whether the choices cover the possibilities relevant to its decision.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
Which dimensions of your problem would be useful as the rows and columns of a matrix?
Are you considering all possible combinations of variables, or just the few most likely outcomes?
How could displaying a matrix help your team compare the combinations and notice gaps in its analysis?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- The Thinkers Toolkit by Morgan D Jones