Software Magazine - Table 1: Decision Analysis Matrix

Aug/Sep 2000

Table 1: Decision Analysis Matrix

Objectives	Weight	Alternative: Software A	Alternative: Software B	Alternative: Software C	Alternative: Software D
Ability to attach electronic files	Must	YES Can attach any electronic file to individual records	YES Can attach any electronic file to individual records	YES Can attach any electronic file to individual records	NO Does not have the ability to attach electronic files
Maximize time on the market	10	In the market four years 8/80	In the market two years 4/40	In the market five years 10/100
Maximize product support	9	Three months of free support 7/63	Four months of free support 8/72	Six months of free support 10/90
Ability to add user-defined fields	8	Unlimited user-defined fields 10/80	Cannot add user-defined fields 0/0	Slightly limited user-defined fields; should be more than enough for us 9/72
Minimize cost	6	$1200 per user 10/60	$1200 per user 10/60	$1300 per user 8/48
User friendly	5	Vendor claims day-one performance; contains electronic support throughout 10/50	Vendor claims five days; current client says one month 4/20	Vendor claims three days of use; current clients support this 8/40
Total		333	192	350

Each objective is listed at the beginning of each row of a decision analysis matrix. Each objective receives a weight, which is then multiplied by the strength of that objective in relation to each alternative. That produces a score for how well each alternative compares to the objective. The scores are added vertically to produce the total score for each software product alternative. In this example, Software Product C has the high score; Product D was eliminated because it could not support a must requirement.

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