Raw Data

Matrix

This is another optional tool for reporting your decision process to the reader/decision maker.

The analysis above was run on two courses of action (COAs), North Bois D'Arc and South Bois D'Arc, using four evaluation criteria (ECs): Cost, Bedrooms, Lot Size, and Distance. To allow the decision maker to see what screening criteria (SCs) I used and what COAs may have been eliminated by applying those SCs, I add that information to a raw data matrix.

As you can see, I used two SCs, Cost < 160K and Distance (from work) <= 1.0 mile. SC Cost eliminated COA Bonham (at $175K), and SC Distance eliminated Tanglewood at 1.3 miles from work.

The COAs and ECs used in the analysis will be entered automatically by the program. You simply need to enter the COAs that were screened out and the SCs themselves. Click on +Row to add a COA and +Col to add an SC. Double-click on the row or column header (yellow cells) to name the COA or SC. Then enter the values for the new COAs in the white cells. To show that a course of action was screened out, double-click any one of the white data cells in that row. That will strike through all the characters in that row and turn them gray.

To show which value failed an SC, thus causing the COA to be eliminated, right click that cell. This turns the value red, identifying it as the disqualifying value.