Decision-Making Methods

When a team needs to prioritise multiple tasks, the Bull’s Eye Diagram can be used.

The Bull’s Eye Diagram resembles a dartboard with several concentric circles. The closer the content is to the centre, the more important it is.

Preparation phase: First, the Bull’s Eye Diagram needs to be drawn. It typically consists of 3 concentric circles: the innermost circle represents the most important content; the middle circle represents the less important content; the outer circle represents tasks with lower priority or general importance; and the outermost area represents the least important content. At this stage, the team writes each task that requires a decision on sticky notes.

Decision phase: The first team member presents their view on each task and places the corresponding sticky notes on the diagram according to the importance of the task. Other members then express their views on each task and adjust the position of the sticky notes based on their judgment. Note that each task can only be moved one level during a single discussion. Once each member has shared their perspective and adjusted the sticky notes, the decision process for the Bull’s Eye Diagram is complete.

Analysis of results: The team can analyse the placement of each task on the diagram and combine this with the members’ comments to determine the priority of each task. By using this method, the team can gain a more comprehensive understanding of each member’s perspective and make a more reasonable decision. Of course, the Bull’s Eye Diagram has its limitations, for example, the last speaker often has a greater influence on the final decision.

To overcome this limitation, the team can also use a Decision Matrix to quantitatively analyse and compare the advantages and disadvantages of each option across various criteria, transforming the results into a more objective conclusion. For example, the team can create a table with each option in a column and each evaluation criterion in a row.

A weight coefficient is assigned to each criterion. Each member then rates each option based on the evaluation criteria, with scores ranging from 1 to 10. Once all ratings are complete, the team calculates the average score for each option under each criterion and computes the weighted total score based on the assigned weights.

After calculating the weighted total score for each option, the team can select the option with the highest total score as the final decision. This method allows the team to objectively analyse each option’s merits and, at the same time, incorporate the opinions of members to choose the option that best meets the team’s needs.