Pick the Best of Several Options with a Weighted Score Table (Decision Matrix)
Use when choosing one of 3–7 known options against several needs. It sets criteria and weights, has each person score alone, adds up the totals, checks if small changes flip the result, and records why.
To use this AI rule
## Check Whether a Score Table Fits This Choice
Use a weighted decision matrix for a one-time choice among 3–7 known alternatives when several criteria must be balanced and the rationale must remain auditable. Do not use it to discover customer needs, improve an ongoing process, justify a predetermined choice, or score options that are poorly understood. Resolve hard exclusion criteria before ranking.
## Set Weighted Criteria and Have Each Person Score Alone
State the decision as a concrete question. Define 5–8 independent, measurable, decision-relevant criteria; merge overlaps to prevent double counting. Set weights before seeing or rating the alternatives, and make them total 100 percent. Define a shared 1–5 scale with observable anchors. Have participants score independently before discussion to reduce anchoring and groupthink. Multiply each rating by its criterion weight, then sum the weighted scores for every alternative.
## Check Whether Small Changes Flip the Winner and Record the Choice
Treat the ranking as conditional evidence, not an automatic verdict. Vary the most important weights by 10 percentage points and uncertain ratings by one point. If the top options reverse or differ by less than 5 percent, gather more information, refine criteria, or include qualitative constraints outside the matrix. Record the question, alternatives, criteria, weights, scale, scores, assumptions, sensitivity results, selected option, and reason for reconsideration. Reopen the decision only when material facts change.