Define the decision before solving the problem
Frame a business concern as a clear choice with alternatives, success criteria, limits, and a deadline.
Turn a vague business concern into a decision with alternatives, success criteria, constraints, and a deadline.
Overview
Westbridge Office Supplies is losing customers who wait too long for price quotes. Its sales director says, “We need another salesperson.” Before evaluating candidates, the general manager asks what decision the business actually needs to make.
Both businesses, estimates, and policies in this lesson are fictional teaching assumptions.
Recall Lesson 009: Why did Lane Bicycle Service need more guidance than a revenue-growth target? Hold your answer for the debrief.
Frame the choice
A concern describes something that deserves attention: customers are waiting, costs are rising, or sales are falling. A decision chooses an action. Defining the decision means stating the choice clearly enough that people can compare realistic alternatives.
“Should we hire another salesperson?” makes hiring the center of the discussion. “How should we reduce quote delays over the next month?” opens other possibilities, including changing the work. That question still needs boundaries.
A concise decision statement identifies who decides, the issue, possible actions, desired results, timing, and important limits. This follows the decision-statement approach described by Compass Resource Management's Structured Decision Making resource. Source
For Westbridge: “By Friday, the general manager will choose a four-week trial to reduce quote delays for existing customers, comparing standard quote templates with temporary administrative support, within $1,200 of additional spending.”
The team must still investigate the cause of delays and compare consequences.
Criteria and constraints
Alternatives are different actions you could actually take. Include at least two genuine options. Keeping the current approach provides a useful comparison.
Success criteria are the results used to judge options. Westbridge might compare response time, quote accuracy, and additional cost. Define each measure: time from receiving a complete request to sending a usable quote, for example. An immediate acknowledgment would not count as a completed quote.
A constraint is a boundary the selected action must respect. A firm $1,200 spending cap is a constraint. Preferring lower cost is a criterion. Cost can serve both roles: reject options above the cap, then compare costs among those that fit.
Agree which results matter most before choosing a favorite. A speed improvement that produces incorrect prices may harm customers. Explain trade-offs that require judgment.
Separate the decision deadline, when someone must choose, from the evaluation period, when results will be assessed.
Worked example
Westbridge currently sends 60 of every 100 complete quote requests within one business day. Its goal is at least 80 of 100 during the trial, while preserving quote accuracy. The general manager has $1,200 available after existing obligations.
The team supplies these estimates. Both options can start Monday, last four weeks, and require no continuing commitment.
| Trial option | Additional cost | Estimated quotes within one day, per 100 requests |
|---|---|---|
| Standard templates for common products | $600 total | 85 |
| Temporary administrative support | $1,000 total | 90 |
Templates would improve the estimated rate from 60% to 85%, a 25-percentage-point increase. Support would raise it to 90%, a 30-point increase. Both fit the budget and are estimated to exceed the 80% target.
Support costs $400 more and is estimated to produce five more timely quotes per 100 requests. The manager needs to judge whether that difference is valuable and credible, while checking accuracy.
Templates depend on delays coming from repeated drafting. Support depends on administrative work being the main obstacle. Examine delayed requests and consult the people preparing quotes. If supplier price approvals cause most delays, neither estimate may hold.
A small trial can test the more credible explanation. Record response times and incorrect quotes, then review after four weeks. These estimates are predictions, not measured results or guarantees.
Exercise
Allow 7–9 minutes. You own Juniper Books. Saturday checkout waits average 12 minutes. You want an average of eight minutes or less across the next four Saturdays without increasing transaction errors.
A supervisor proposes replacing the checkout system. That would cost $2,400 and take six weeks. You have a firm $600 budget, need a change in place next Saturday, and must choose by Tuesday so staffing can be arranged.
Two feasible trials are available. A trained helper costs $20 per hour, including all employer costs, for six hours each Saturday. Alternatively, a $300 one-time express-checkout setup lets an existing employee serve customers buying one or two books. That employee would leave the recommendations desk during peak periods. Neither trial requires other additional spending.
The supervisor estimates average waits of seven minutes with the helper and eight minutes with express checkout. These are untested estimates. You make the final decision.
- Write a decision statement naming the owner, alternatives, deadline, trial period, and desired result.
- Calculate the helper's four-Saturday cost. Separate two success criteria from two firm constraints.
- Explain why replacing the system is outside the current choice. Name one assumption to investigate for each feasible trial.
- Recommend a trial provisionally. Identify one consequence to monitor alongside waiting time.
Attempt the exercise before reading on.
Answer
A suitable statement is: “By Tuesday, the owner will choose a helper or express-checkout trial for the next four Saturdays, aiming to reduce average checkout waits from 12 minutes to eight or less without increasing errors, within $600.”
The helper costs 4 Saturdays × 6 hours × $20 per hour = $480. That leaves $600 − $480 = $120 of the trial budget. Express checkout costs $300, leaving $300.
Waiting time and transaction errors are success criteria. Additional spending of no more than $600 and readiness by next Saturday are constraints. The replacement system exceeds both the budget and the implementation window. It could be considered in a separate longer-term decision.
The helper assumes a trained extra person can relieve the actual checkout delay. Express checkout assumes enough small purchases can be separated effectively and that moving the employee will not create a worse problem elsewhere.
A provisional helper trial is reasonable: it fits the limits, has the lower estimated wait, and preserves recommendations-desk coverage. Its $180 higher cost than express checkout needs justification; the estimated one-minute advantage alone does not prove it is worth paying.
Express checkout is also defensible if small purchases dominate and desk coverage can be reduced with little customer harm. Check recent queues before deciding. Monitor transaction errors alongside waits; for express checkout, also check whether customers can obtain book recommendations.
Recall answer: Lane's growth target did not specify customers, the service promise, or which work to decline. A complaint about waiting also leaves the operating choice unresolved.
Applying this lesson
Before analyzing a proposal, write the choice, genuine alternatives, success criteria, constraints, decision maker, and deadline. Keep this short statement as the starting point for this week's decision memo.
Sources
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