Quality Operational Decision Making Online Course  

How can we consistently make good decisions in our everyday operations, quickly comparing options while easily factoring in the risk, cost, and benefit? That is the focus of this playbook course – bringing efficient, practical Decision Quality (DQ) thinking and tools into daily operations. Attend this course and become adept at making quick, clear, quality operational decisions. Learn how to tackle smaller, more frequent decision problems using a scaled-down, fit-for-purpose Decision Quality approach that can be practiced in any industry.

Through an interactive mix of theory and practical application, participants learn to apply just enough of the Decision Quality workflow steps to enrich the quality of their everyday decisions. Short relevant case studies will be worked based on common problems many industries face. Example case studies will address these types of common business decisions:  

• Should we continue with conventional technology or switch to a new technology?  

• Should we repair aging equipment or wait until it fails?  

• When should we fish or cut bait when problems arise?  

• Should we rent or buy new equipment?  

What’s Covered

• Framing decision problems to agree on the appropriate focus and project alternatives to answer management's key questions  

• Defining operational objectives and importance, and generating a list of options  

• Identifying key risks that make it difficult to choose  

• Developing basic decision trees with scoping economics results, or end value placeholders  

• Sensitizing quick inputs and gaining insight to have tradeoff discussions and enable fast, but informed decisions  

What’s Provided

• A unique package of reference material and software which enables attendees to become independent practitioners of Decision Quality 

• Course manual with standard lectures and relevant case studies (digital and or hardcopy) 

• Decision Frameworks digital Decision Quality Toolbox, a quick reference guide to key workflow steps 

• State-of-the-art decision software, DTrio® (for Decision Framing) and TreeTop® (for Decision Trees and Uncertainty Analysis) for a 30-day evaluation period 

Online Course Outline (two, 4-hour modules)

Module 1 – Introduction to Decision Quality & Workflows

• Decision Quality process and workflow for operational decisions  

• Problem definition and decision framing   

• Interactive breakout: Framing by hand exercise  

• Decision tree basics to structure and evaluate decisions   

• Interactive case study breakout: start problem definition, issues, decision focus and options  

Module 2 - Framing & Evaluating Operational Decisions

• Interactive case study breakout: complete problem definition, issues, decision focus and options  

• Qualitative and basic decision tree quantitative assessment of the options  

• Interactive case study breakout: qualitative assessment, decision trees and sensitivities