Examine Your Organization’s Analytic and Organizational Processes to Find the Gaps

In a short, intensive effort, SDG can work with your organization to diagnose and understand the true roots of a problem or strategic need. Once completed—usually in a matter of days or weeks—you will have insights and new options to consider.

Understanding the true nature of the problem or need is often the most important step and the lowest-cost way to a true solution. It is also where significant experience is needed to recognize the need and root causes; where the art of asking the right questions combines with the skills of an investigative reporter to find and interrogate the right sources.

Often, an organization has some key elements of a high-quality decision-making process already in place. The most efficient approach is to build on that existing foundation. This requires understanding where the gaps are, how to fill them, and how to link the new additions to what is already in place. SDG works with your team to understand how your organization makes key decisions today and to determine what steps will be most cost- and time-effective to generate even more value.

Decision Quality has two primary dimensions: organizational and analytical.

SDG’s diagnostic process examines the decision-making processes on the organizational dimension:

• Are decision makers and stakeholders identified and involved from the beginning?
• Is there agreement on the framing of the problem before analysis starts?
• Is there a common understanding of uncertainty / risk surrounding the decision?
• Is a wide range of alternatives considered?
• Does the decision making process generate commitment to action?

Similarly, we look at your existing analytical processes:

• Are key objectives understood, quantified, and explicitly modeled?
• Is risk and uncertainty assessed and represented explicitly?
• Are analytical results used to generate insight, or just to calculate a recommendation?

Every diagnostic effort is different—and depends on the situation. However, getting to a clear diagnosis uses some common skills and tools: investigative research; expert debiasing and assessment processes; workshops; engagement platforms that allow easy collection and sorting ideas from many sources; and most of all, SDG’s highly experienced practitioners.