No matter what kind of company we are talking about, decision-making is a crucial factor in business operations and growth. In this post, we will go through some of the most popular models used by decision-makers in companies: the seven steps for the decision-making process.
In every step, we will be exploring what you should take into account and how technology can help you to enhance the value you can get from a tailored decision-making process.
- Identify the decision you need to make
It is essential to have a clear view of the decision since the success of the other steps depends on it. The proper definition of the question or issue eases the process by creating a more rigorous approach.
How can Business Intelligence help you?
Business intelligence solutions can help you to identify trends, trends change, and patterns in data. It makes it easier for you to tell the data you need to focus on apart. Something helpful in this matter is the hierarchical analysis offered by tools like BI4Web because it allows going as deep into data as you need to annotate the data analysis.
- Gather relevant information
Once the decision is defined, you must gather as much relevant information as you need. Select enough information to avoid unguided choices but not too much that you end up overwhelmed. You can ease this task by using Business intelligence solutions to access information with a few clicks. This way, you can visualize relevant data without requesting data from every area in the organization. Besides saving time, you will get high-quality data since integrations used by business intelligence solutions suppress typical errors from human data manipulation.
Does business intelligence ease this task?
Yes, it does. In a well-carried business intelligence project, the solution is connected to every data source in the company. That is why in a single solution like BI4Web, your can access all data you need to amplify your vision of the issue.
Another business intelligence advantage is helping you to find out relations among data so you can establish causalities to guide your decisions.
- Identify all alternatives
It is uncommon to have only one way to solve issues. That is why having an open mind is essential to avoid staying stuck on the first idea coming up.
Establish actual alternatives with business intelligence
Going through all available alternatives can be overwhelming, but it does not have to be. Choose the proper graphic representation from your business intelligence solution and enhance your skills to identify options that otherwise would be unnoticed because of the high amounts of data.
- Weigh the evidence
Start with the list created in the previous point. Rate the ups and downs of every decision. Consider consulting internal and external sources to build up a more accurate scenario.
Go beyond assumptions with Business Intelligence
Explore the options data history that you selected and evaluate carefully what the data has to tell you. This way, you will avoid basing your decision on assumptions.
- Choose among many alternatives
After evaluating alternatives, choose what suits better the situation of your company. You can use criteria as alignment with the policy of the company and your team’s mindset. Likewise, the impact they might produce inside and outside the organization.
What can help you with this choice?
You can use tools such as the decision matrix, which help you more objectively qualify each alternative by scoring each one. You obtain the score by giving points to the characteristics of every option based on the weight they have in relevance.
- Take action
Put the decision you made into action. Prepare a work plan and assign tasks to your work team. It is crucial decisions become actions before the conditions change because it can affect the results.
Any recommendations before putting the decision in motion?
You must establish the KPIs that will help you evaluate the performance of the selected alternative. In this case, a Business Intelligence solution is of great help since it allows monitoring in real time and making the necessary adjustments.
- Review your decision
Define a prudent time to review the decision made. Evaluate whether the effects of the decision have been as expected. When the result is what you expected, note the factors that made it possible. If not, write the lessons learned so you can use that knowledge in future decisions.
Review is an ally of continuous improvement.
Decision-making is a continuous task. That is why, after the established time, you must review it in light of the established KPIs to generate the necessary knowledge for future company decisions.
If you want to start making better decisions, contact us, and we will help you to begin your journey with BI4web.