BRAINSTORM
AND CLUSTER
CRITERIA
2014 v1.0
Define Decision: Identity Criteria
Define
Identify
Criteria
Build
Ratings
Scales
Identify
Alternatives
Identify
Participants
1. Brainstorm
2. Cluster
3. Define
4. Refine
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Building Your Decision Model Criteria Tree
A structured four step process of criteria development
works well
1. Brainstorm – Develop ideas for criteria
2. Cluster – Build hierarchy by grouping like criteria
3. Define – Describe the meaning of each criterion
4. Refine – Finalize criteria structure and definitions
Criteria are the driving factors used to define success
for a specific decision, represent either a broad goal or
specific objective against which an alternative is
evaluated, and are specific to the decision goal
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1. Brainstorm Criteria
Uninhibited free flow of ideas
 Even if it seems a little wacky, as long as it has to do with the
problem, get it out there
Begin independently
 Start by having everyone brainstorm privately by jotting down
3-5 important criteria
Feel free to piggyback on other ideas
 Use one another’s ideas to get at the full scope of the problem
Don’t criticize any ideas until brainstorming is
concluded
 You use a different part of your brain to critique than create;
keep critique turned off for now
Don’t worry about clustering or defining criteria yet
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2. Cluster Criteria
Do any criteria seem redundant?
Begin dragging criteria under the decision goal to
develop the hierarchy tree
Do any criteria seem to “go” together?
 Group like criteria
 Create a descriptive heading for the grouping
Do the child criteria fully describe that parent criteria?
Do the parent criteria fully describe the decision goal?
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Brainstorm Criteria
1
Type Brainstormed ideas into the space provided and click
This feature may be used as a whiteboard for the facilitator
while also allowing for remote collaboration by participants
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Cluster Criteria
1
Cluster like concepts into broader
categories. Drag and drop from the
Brainstorm Criteria pane to the main screen
2
To Add Peer or Add Child to a
Criterion, click
In this example, Traffic volume,
Truck volume, Insufficient
Capacity, and Construction
Material are clustered under the
parent Site Characteristics
Note: You can move criteria around different levels by dragging and dropping into the Decision
Goal for a higher level criteria or dropping into the highest level to create sub factors.
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Best Practices for Criteria Development
Brainstorm with a few key players and SMEs to create a
strawman proposal (don’t start with too many cooks in the kitchen)
Let the broader set of stakeholders throw darts at the
strawman
 What’s missing? What is duplicative? What is unclear in the
definitions?
Conduct either a top down or a bottom up approach
 Top down – begin with objectives and drivers
 Bottom up - pick two different alternatives and list pros and cons;
important differentiators, are likely factors to consider for all
alternatives
Ensure that all voters have a chance to provide feedback
prior to Collecting Priorities – buy-in is best achieved when
stakeholders feel “vested” in the model
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Best Practices for Criteria Development cont.
Keep it simple! Criteria hierarchies should not be an
exhaustive list
Criteria development is more of an art than a science
– there are no concrete right or wrong answers
Criteria can be action oriented, but remember to keep
criteria and solutions (alternatives) separate
Verify that you can get data to support the criteria in
your model – if not, evaluate suitability of the criteria
Cost is not necessarily a criterion
 It may be a resource to allocate based on the value delivered
by the alternatives
 If used, how will you evaluate the criterion? What is
considered a “good” cost vs. a “bad” cost?
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Learn more at
DLU.decisionlens.com