Before AHP software, there were spreadsheets.
These spreadsheets were built on the weights and scores system, and often relied on multi-criteria decision-making, or MCDM. MCDM was intended to help organizations prioritize decision initiatives on their strategy roadmaps.
But spreadsheets can only accomplish so much. Being able to track and log internal communications, and pull data on stakeholder opinions throughout every stage of the decision-making process were all unattainable through MCDM. Spreadsheets were also limited in their ability to synthesize interrelated qualitative and quantitative information making it difficult to build a justifiable case to back your decision.
Enter the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a methodology that streamlines the decision-making journey and brings much-needed structure and organization to the process from start to finish. Instead of working on vague decisions based on dispersed spreadsheets with opaque data sources, AHP software can enable you to prioritize and properly define decision-making tasks and ensure insightful data is being compiled, and used every step of the way.
If you’re still relying on people raising hands and posting sticky notes to facilitate your decision-making process, it’s time to embrace a more efficient way to get things done. Important decisions should ensure that information compiled along the way can be put back together intuitively. AHP software enables you to do just that.
You might feel like certain nuggets of information aren’t important to the overall outcome, as you work to justify your decision, but wouldn't you prefer to have proof? Having access to visual, measurable representations of how all information relates to decision objectives can make all the difference when explaining to senior leadership how you arrived at your endpoint.
Let’s cover just some of the reasons your organization should embrace AHP software to improve your decision-making processes.
Ensure All Decisions Are Justifiable
The U.S. military often uses a phrase called "bias for action". It essentially means you're not afraid to make decisions and take action, even when faced with uncertainty.
But one retired U.S. general believes decisiveness in the face of uncertainty should be met with a bias for deliberate action. He argues that this alternative follows a carefully mapped out process, and involves actively studying and having evidence-based conversations on the situation at hand and the possible solutions to consider.
Just as the U.S. military believes in decision-making founded on discipline, knowledge, and deliberation, so too should your business. A lot of business decisions can have a major impact on the long-term growth and success of your organization. Through AHP software, your teams can turn complexity into simplicity through a structured hierarchy of prioritization columns and a centralized platform that collects and synthesizes all relevant information.
When used properly, AHP software enables you and your colleagues to have a thorough, rational, and understandable decision that is intuitively appealing and can be communicated and justified to senior leadership.
Consider All Your Alternatives
Ultimately, there’s a way to justify any decision your team makes. If a decision ends up not playing out as intended, stakeholders will begin asking ‘what if?’ in regards to alternative decisions that were passed over.
Someone will always offer a reason to go with an alternative decision. With AHP software at your disposal, you’ll have an easier time zeroing in the information that is needed to convince stakeholders that the decision you ultimately made was in the best interests of all those involved.
With AHP software, you can efficiently measure the importance of competing objectives and alternatives, and ensure the decision you make is 100% justifiable and backed by relevant information. Being able to demonstrate why you passed over certain alternatives in favor of the final decision is important to achieve stakeholder buy-in and ensure there’s a communal understanding of how you arrived at your decision.
Effectively Orchestrate Resource Allocation
With so many moving parts throughout the decision-making process, how can you accurately define which elements are most important to the desired outcome? Resource allocation helps you solve for this by enabling you to assign different intensity levels for your varying tasks and stretch discretionary projects accordingly.
While simpler decisions may feel intuitive, complex business decisions need to be grounded in structure and data. In order to navigate the decision-making journey with as few obstacles and impediments as possible, you need to ensure priorities are clearly defined and communicated to all stakeholders.
With AHP software that enables proper resource allocation, you can accurately dictate which tasks will bring the most value to your organization, and in turn, ensure clarity and consistency is baked into every element of the decision-making process.
Enable Collaboration, No Matter the Circumstances
As organizations increasingly make the shift to remote or hybrid work environments, the need for digital decision-making solutions has never been more vital. Through AHP software, you can cater to in-office and remote employees alike and enable them to effectively collaborate.
AHP software can enable real-time interaction and collaboration amongst stakeholders, allowing them to voice their opinions throughout every stage of the decision-making process and ensure all insights have been shared before moving to the next step. Regardless of geographic location or time zone, your stakeholders should be able to work together to reach the best decision possible.
Reach Better Decisions with Expert Choice
For organizations aiming to implement collaborative decision-making solutions, Expert Choice is here to help. Through our Comparion® AHP software, we enable teams to structure problems in a clear, understandable fashion. We also provide tools needed to accurately measure the importance of competing objectives and alternatives, which allows you to accurately synthesize information, expertise, and judgments in order to make the best decisions.
Contact us to learn how we can help you maximize opportunities in order to ensure you’re consistently making optimal decisions. Can't wait, and want to schedule a personalized tour of our software? Click here to schedule your demo.
