We are in a perfect storm for making great decisions and nothing less. There are converging forces that put a premium on better decisions in that organizations are being asked for more in a changing world. At the same time the number of assists that are available to boost better decision making are also emerging quickly. What are these forces and boosts to increase an organization’s ability to make better at the minimum and great decisions at a maximum? The coming decision wars will be at the forefront of success going forward for organizations and individuals.
Forces Affecting Decisions:
Business Contexts Shifting Faster
Organizations are being swamped by the increasing number of factors that can affect them. While operational pressure persists and are intensifying, other factors such as governance, shortages, political storms and economic shifts are increasing simultaneously. This puts a premium on scenario planning like never before.
More Data Available Than Ever
The amount of data available for organizations to leverage is mind boggling and increasing by the second. All organizations are now information dependent and the amount of data/information swamping them is larger than ever. This puts a premium on data mining and matching productive decision journeys with the proper data sources.
Increasing Speed of BusinessÂ
Organizational speed is increasing significantly. The idea of pondering operational adjustments is just not as feasible as it was just a few years ago. Tactical decisions have to be done quicker than ever because of customer demands and competitive pressures. The number and speed of opportunities and threats is accelerating faster than ever, so measured responses have to be done quickly.
Forces That Boost Decisions:
Increasing Intelligence
The number of intelligent coping mechanisms is growing rapidly. Traditionally algorithms have been the bastion of intelligence applied to data and this source continues to grow. Now we have myriad Machine Learning (ML) capabilities that can be used in conjunction with Deep Learning (DL) and eventually Cognitive Components (COGs) that can be assembled in combination with the aforementioned intelligent components.
Agility Features in New Software Platforms
Recently the spotlight has been on low code approaches that leverage model driven, menu driven, and parameter driven code. While this is good, there are also other forms of explicit forms of rule and policy change that do not require changing of any code. A new promising form of rule agility is driven by a decision standard known as Decision Modeling and Notation (DMN).
Better Decision Reference Information
Catalogs of available helpful decision components (ML, DL. COGs, DMN, PMML, etc.) can be searched and leveraged during any decision journey. These reference catalogs also contain data sources that describe available data resources. These are one of the main ingredients in a Decision Management Platform (DMP)
Better Real Time Collaboration Work Spaces
Work Spaces have been in the headlines for a number of years now, but they have not been aimed at the decision management problem in a consistent fashion. The potential of work management spaces of decision collaboration is largely untapped.
Net:
The forces need to be matched by the proper boosts combined in innovative ways. This matching process should be guided by Decision Management Framework (DMF) that explains the nature of the decision(s) in a collaborative fashion. The DMF communicates both the business and technical attributes of a decision so that a good Decision Management Journey (DMJ) can be mapped out and supported by a Decision Management Platform (DMP). I will be writing more about the DMF, DMJ and the DMP in future posts.
