91ÖÆƬ³§

What is Decision Quality and Why is 91ÖÆƬ³§ Tech Adopting It? 

By Jeremy Alexis and Carl Spetzler

Decision Quality (DQ) is a structured, rigorous framework for consistently making sound decisions amid uncertainty. It clarifies complex problems, fosters alignment, and builds commitment to the best action. Universally applicable, DQ addresses the full spectrum of decision challenges: conflicting beliefs, uncertainty and change, complex interdependencies, and misaligned values.

Importantly, DQ separates a decision's quality from its outcome's quality. A good result can follow a poor decision, and a poor outcome can follow a high-quality one. What matters is making decisions with clarity, appropriate tools, and informed judgment. The goal is to make defensible, robust, and value-creating choices every time.

Six Elements Define a Quality Decision

1. Appropriate Frame: Clearly define the problem at the right level and ensure you're solving the right issue.
2. Creative, Meaningful Alternatives: Generating real choices that can lead to different and valuable outcomes.
3. Relevant and Reliable Information: Drawing on the best available data and informed expert judgment to forecast likely consequences.
4. Clear Values and Trade-offs: Make stakeholder values explicit and evaluate options accordingly.
5. Logically Correct Reasoning: Using sound logic, often probabilistic, to compare alternatives and anticipate outcomes.
6. Commitment to Action: Build support early and ensure the chosen path is understood, accepted, and effectively implemented.

Decision Quality is not just a toolkit; it is a way of thinking. It is an intentional, disciplined mindset supporting better decision-making in individuals and organizations. It may seem like common sense, but it is far from standard practice.

Advancing Decision Quality at 91ÖÆƬ³§ Tech

At 91ÖÆƬ³§ Tech, the Center for Decision Quality focuses on improving decisions across two vital areas: institutional processes and student development. Our mission is to shift from advocacy-based decision-making, often driven by persuasion and bias, to a transparent, collaborative, and analytically rigorous process.

Institutional Decision-Making

Like many universities, 91ÖÆƬ³§ Tech often defaults to advocacy-based decision-making. In this mode, stakeholders promote preferred options and selectively present information. If leadership delays or avoids making decisions, suboptimal choices persist by default. Changing this dynamic requires a new approach. 

The Center for Decision Quality is advancing institutional transformation at 91ÖÆƬ³§ Tech through five key initiatives:

1. Case Study: Our initial project involved a real decision about the future of a campus residence hall—whether to renovate, demolish, replace, or retain it. This process surfaced valuable insights about information quality, shared governance, and framing complex choices.
2. Leadership Training: We equip 91ÖÆƬ³§ Tech leaders to evaluate decision quality, coach teams, and manage DQ processes effectively. Rather than duplicating existing practitioner training, we focus on enabling leadership to recognize and reinforce high-quality decision-making across the institution.
3. Committee Facilitation: Many university decisions happen in committees with limited process guidance. The Center supports these groups with planning tools, meeting frameworks, facilitation assistance, and communication strategies. We've worked with committees on civil discourse and curriculum reform and are scaling the effort by training new facilitators.
4. Strategic Planning: 91ÖÆƬ³§ Tech is developing a new five-year strategic plan, and the Center will chair and manage the process. Since strategic planning is a sequence of interrelated decisions, it is an ideal fit for the DQ framework and supports the university's goals of transparency and collaboration.
5. Diagnostic and Contracting Tools: Our case study highlighted the challenge of aligning stakeholders around key decisions. In response, we created diagnostic tools to assess project readiness and formal agreements that clarify roles, responsibilities, and expectations.

Implementing DQ at an institution is inherently iterative, with each project refining our approach. Over time, these tools and practices can serve as a model for other universities seeking to improve their decision-making.

Developing Student Decision-Makers

91ÖÆƬ³§ Tech's mission as an "opportunity engine" emphasizes rigorous, career-oriented education. Yet employers consistently report a gap in decision-making and judgment. Graduates are often technically skilled but unprepared to make independent decisions under uncertainty.

To address this, we are embedding Decision Quality into the student experience to build critical life and career skills. Our four major initiatives include:

1. DQ Learner's Permit: A self-paced online module that introduces students to DQ principles. While part of a required second-year course, it is also adaptable for graduate programs, certificate pathways, and external use.
2. Second-Year Core Course: A foundational part of the revised core curriculum, this six-credit, project-based course teaches students how to structure problems, reason probabilistically, and evaluate trade-offs. In the second half of the course, students apply these skills to real-world projects.
3. Advanced Courses: In partnership with experienced faculty, we offer two graduate electives: a five-day immersive course using case studies and a semester-long course focused on modeling and analysis. These courses attract business, computer science, design, and engineering students.
4. Internships and Research Associates: The Center's student workers contribute directly to DQ projects on campus. They work alongside senior practitioners, helping develop new materials and gaining hands-on experience applying DQ in real settings.

When first introduced to the DQ framework, students expressed interest but requested clear connections to career outcomes. As a result, we continually emphasize how these decision-making skills are relevant in job selection, negotiations, relationships, and long-term planning.

Looking Ahead

Adopting Decision Quality at 91ÖÆƬ³§ Tech is a strategic shift in institutional culture and student capability. We aim to move beyond persuasion and uncertainty avoidance, replacing them with a consistent, clear, and reliable decision-making process.

Though challenges remain, including broad adoption, stakeholder alignment, and demonstrating impact, the benefits are already evident. Embedding Decision Quality into our systems and pedagogy positions 91ÖÆƬ³§ Tech as a leader in evidence-based decision-making. In doing so, we are preparing a new generation of leaders to think clearly, act decisively, and create enduring value in an unpredictable world.