Quality Glossary Definition: Decision matrix Show Also called: Pugh matrix, decision grid, selection matrix or grid, problem matrix, problem selection matrix, opportunity analysis, solution matrix, criteria rating form, criteria-based matrix A decision matrix evaluates and prioritizes a list of options and is a decision-making tool. The team first establishes a list of weighted criteria and then evaluates each option against those criteria. This is a variation of the L-shaped matrix. When to Use a Decision Matrix
Typical situations are:
Decision Matrix Procedure
Decision Matrix ExampleFigure 1 shows a decision matrix used by the customer service team at the Parisian Experience restaurant to decide which aspect of the overall problem of "long wait time" to tackle first. The problems they identified are customers waiting for the host, the waiter, the food, and the check. The criteria they identified are "Customer pain" (how much does this negatively affect the customer?), "Ease to solve," "Effect on other systems," and "Speed to solve." Originally, the criteria "Ease to solve" was written as "Difficulty to solve," but that wording reversed the rating scale. With the current wording, a high rating on each criterion defines a state that would encourage selecting the problem: high customer pain, very easy to solve, high effect on other systems, and quick solution. Figure 1: Decision Matrix Example "Customer pain" has been weighted with 5 points, showing that the team considers it by far the most important criterion, compared to 1 or 2 points for the others. The team chose a rating scale of high = 3, medium = 2, and low = 1 and used it for the problem. "Customers wait for food." In this example, the customer pain is medium (2), because the restaurant ambiance is nice. This problem would not be easy to solve (low ease = 1), as it involves both waiters and kitchen staff. The effect on other systems is medium (2), because waiters have to make several trips to the kitchen. The problem will take a while to solve (low speed = 1), as the kitchen is cramped and inflexible. Each rating is multiplied by the weight for that criterion. For example, "Customer pain" (weight of 5) for "Customers wait for host" rates high (3) for a score of 15. The scores are added across the rows to obtain a total for each problem. "Customers wait for host" has the highest score at 28. Since the next highest score is 18, the host problem probably should be addressed first. Decision Matrix Considerations
Additional considerations
Adapted from The Quality Toolbox, Second Edition, ASQ Quality Press. |