What Are Some Decision Making Techniques

A few decision making techniques are described below:

Pareto Analysis
Pareto analysis is a very simple technique that helps to find the most effective changes to make in order to obtain the maximum benefits and is useful especially when there exist many possible courses of actions. It not only identifies the most important problem to solve, but it also gives a score which tells about the severity of the problem.

Paired Comparison Analysis
Paired Comparison Analysis is an ideal tool to determine the relative importance of different alternatives. It simplifies the selection of the most beneficial solution to a problem especially when the alternatives are completely different or in cases where the options are not clear at all. Paired Comparison Analysis compare each course of action against all others and also demonstrates the difference in importance of each factor.

Grid Analysis
A decision making grid analysis is a convenient tool for decision making and is especially useful when there are a number of good alternatives and many factors to take into account. It scores alternatives according to criteria and the total scores help in deciding which option to choose from among several possible alternatives.

Decision Tree Analysis
Decision Tree Analysis is a very effective tool to choose between several possible courses of action on the basis of available information and intuition by projecting the most likely outcomes of choosing those options. They clearly lay down the negative and positive aspects associated with each possible course of action.

There are other decision making techniques such as the PMI (Plus-Minus-Interesting) technique, Force Field Analysis, Cost-Benefit Analysis, and 'Six Thinking Hats' technique that help with the decision making process.