decision-framework

name	decision-framework
description	⚖️ Structured decision-making — weighted scoring matrices, pros/cons frameworks, decision journals, and risk assessment for personal and professional choices. Activate for any 'should I...', comparison, trade-off, or difficult choice.

⚖️ Decision Framework

Decision architect who replaces gut feelings with structured thinking. Not because intuition is wrong, but because writing it down reveals what your gut is actually saying.

Process

1. Clarify the decision -- what exactly are you choosing between? Remove ambiguity. "Should I change jobs?" becomes "Should I accept the offer from Company X, or stay at Company Y?"
2. Identify criteria -- what matters? List every factor: financial, personal, career, lifestyle, risk. Include criteria you feel embarrassed about -- those matter most.
3. Weight criteria -- not everything matters equally. Distribute 100 points across criteria, or rank 1-10. Forces you to admit what you actually prioritize.
4. Score options -- rate each option against each criterion (1-5 scale). Score independently -- cover other columns while scoring.
5. Analyze sensitivity -- change the weights. Does the winner change? If small weight shifts flip the result, the decision is genuinely close and either option is defensible.
6. Document decision and reasoning -- write it down before you decide. Future you will thank present you, especially when evaluating outcomes.

Framework Selection Guide

Decision Type	Best Framework	When to Use
Simple binary (yes/no)	Pros/Cons with weighting	Two clear options, moderate stakes
Multi-option comparison	Weighted decision matrix	3+ options, multiple criteria
Time-sensitive prioritization	Eisenhower matrix	Many tasks competing for attention
High-stakes irreversible	One-way/Two-way door	Need to gauge reversibility before depth of analysis
Group or consensus	Delphi method	Multiple stakeholders, reduce groupthink

Weighted Decision Matrix

Example: Choosing between 3 job offers

Criteria weights (must sum to 100):

Criteria	Weight	Offer A (Startup)	Offer B (Corp)	Offer C (Remote)
Salary	25	3 (75)	5 (125)	4 (100)
Growth potential	30	5 (150)	3 (90)	4 (120)
Culture fit	20	4 (80)	2 (40)	4 (80)
Location	10	2 (20)	3 (30)	5 (50)
Work-life balance	15	2 (30)	4 (60)	5 (75)
Weighted Total	100	355	345	425

Scoring: 1 = poor, 5 = excellent. Weighted score = score x weight. Offer C wins, driven by balance and location -- which tells you those factors matter more than you might admit.

Pros/Cons with Weighting

Standard pros/cons lists mislead because 3 minor pros look like they outweigh 1 critical con. Fix this by adding impact scores:

Factor	Type	Impact (1-5)	Notes
Higher salary (+20%)	Pro	4	Significant lifestyle improvement
Shorter commute	Pro	2	Nice but not decisive
Better coffee machine	Pro	1	Irrelevant to decision
Lose vested equity	Con	5	50k in unvested stock
Pro total		7
Con total		5

The raw count says 3 pros vs 1 con. The weighted score reveals the con nearly outweighs all pros combined. Always weight.

Decision Journal Template

## Decision Journal Entry

**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Decision:** [One sentence: what you decided]
**Context:** [Why this decision came up now]
**Options considered:**
  1. [Option A] -- [one-line summary]
  2. [Option B] -- [one-line summary]
  3. [Option C] -- [one-line summary]
**Criteria used:** [List with weights]
**Chosen option:** [Which one and why]
**Expected outcome:** [What I think will happen in 6/12 months]
**Confidence level:** [High / Medium / Low]
**Review date:** [When to revisit this decision]

--- (fill in later) ---
**Actual outcome:** [What actually happened]
**What I learned:** [What would I do differently?]

Cognitive Bias Checklist

Before finalizing, ask yourself these questions:

Bias	Question to Ask Yourself
Sunk cost	"Would I still choose this if I hadn't already invested time/money?"
Status quo	"Am I choosing this because it's best, or because it's familiar?"
Anchoring	"Is my first impression or first number I heard unfairly influencing me?"
Confirmation bias	"Am I seeking information that supports what I already want to do?"
Loss aversion	"Am I overweighting what I might lose vs what I might gain?"

Output Template

## Decision: [Statement]

### Options
1. [Option A]
2. [Option B]
3. [Option C]

### Weighted Matrix
[Table with criteria, weights, scores, totals]

### Sensitivity Analysis
- If [weight change], winner shifts to [X] -- decision is [robust/fragile]

### Recommendation
[Option] because [reasoning tied to highest-weighted criteria]

### Confidence Level
[High/Medium/Low] -- [why]

### Review Date
Revisit this decision on [date] to evaluate outcome vs expectation.

Anti-Patterns

• Analysis paralysis -- set a decision deadline. Imperfect action beats perfect indecision.
• Equal weighting -- giving everything the same weight defeats the entire purpose. Force yourself to differentiate.
• Ignoring reversibility -- two-way doors deserve less analysis, not more. Save the heavy frameworks for one-way doors.
• Reverse-engineering the framework -- building a matrix to justify the decision you already made. If you catch yourself adjusting weights until your favorite wins, stop and be honest.
• Not recording for future learning -- the decision journal only works if you come back to it. Set a calendar reminder.