Decision Analysis and Review Process
Details
| Date | Version | Status | Information Classification | Document Template ID | Document No |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22-01-2020 | 1.2 | Approved | Internal | AMS DOC | AMS-CP-08 |
Revision History
| Date | Version | Description | Author | Reviewed by | Approved by | Approved date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20-06-2017 | 1.0 | Initial Version | Ramanujan N C | Ramanujan N C | BV Suresh Kumar | |
| 23-03-2019 | 1.1 | Included S/W Dev & BCM into Scope | ||||
| 03-01-2020 | 1.2 | Annual Review 2020 - Changes made to align with the standard document format | Usha | Shaila | BV Suresh Kumar | 22-01-2020 |
Acronym Used
| Acronym | Expanded Form |
|---|---|
Purpose
- This process is to ensure a formal and structured approach is used in analyzing and making decisions among identified alternatives so that the basis of a decision is objective and the chances of meeting the desired objectives become more objective.
Scope
It should be understood that Decision Analysis and Resolution is a process that is applicable to any situation where a decision needs to be taken for SI and SD (if applicable).Thus, this process is applicable to both technical and service level concerns, examples of which are:
Introduction of a new service line
Modification in the existing services
Design architectures
Platforms
Tools
Product Development and Maintenance
Business Continuity Management (DR/HA)
And non-technical concerns, examples of which are:
Risk Mitigation strategies
Selection of suppliers
Make-buy-reuse decisions
Product Category
Incident Management
Suppliers
Service Providers
Entry Criteria
- Identification of concerns that require formal evaluation of alternative solutions and an objective decision needs to be taken.
Inputs
- Concerns/Challenges to be evaluated.
Responsibility
- Relevant stakeholders provide input in their own areas to help identify alternatives. Reviewers review the output documentation. Project managers document relevant stakeholders and reviewers in project management plan.
Tasks
Establish Evaluation Criteria
Identify the criteria for evaluating the alternatives. The criteria can be numeric, such as cost, or non-numeric, such as impact, risk, etc. The criteria should be ranked according to their degree of influence so that the needs of the relevant stakeholders can be reflected in the evaluation. Structured decision-making is not required for every decision taken. It could be used in the following situations among others that have multiple solutions:
Where the risk impact is high and probability is medium or high.
Where the impact justifies the cost of a formal evaluation process.
When there is a tradeoff between multiple critical to quality factors (cost, schedule, quality, client relations, and business impact)
To decide whether a change requested by a client should be done at this point in time or later or not at all
When investment, project management or technical risk is considered high by Management e.g., setting up an offsite development center
Some examples are given below:
Marketing involving the Go - No Go decision in bidding
Different costing decisions (fixed cost, T & M or a hybrid of these two)
Addition of new business functionality to a product
Scope a project, mainly when it is to be done in multiple releases
Evaluating technologies / platforms for a project
Evaluating improvement options in architecture or design
Evaluating process improvements
Evaluating improvements to work force practices
Selection of tools /methodologies
Selection of vendors
Build or Buy
Evaluating mitigation actions for handling risks
Deciding whether to accept a change
Identify Alternatives
- Identify alternative solutions to address the issue. Potential candidate solutions will be selected and explored further.
Select Evaluation Methods
- Select evaluation methods that are corresponding with the constraints of projects, such as cost and schedule. Examples of such methods are -- desk study, brainstorming by a selected group of people, formal discussions by an assigned group, simulation, prototyping, piloting, survey etc.
Evaluate Alternatives
- Evaluate the selected alternatives using the established evaluation criteria and selected evaluation methods.
Select Alternatives
- Select alternatives based on the evaluation results. Risks associated with the recommended alternatives must be assessed and documented.
Provide Rationale
The results of the evaluation are generally put in the form of a report. However, it may often be embedded in the technical or managerial document. The rationale for the decision taken should be provided. In providing the rationale, the following decisions may be considered:
Criteria of evaluating alternatives: Certain factors should be kept in mind while chalking out alternatives for a decision. For e.g.: cost, technology, importance, etc.
Rankings of the criteria: These factors should be ranked according to their importance i.e. the degree of relevance they have in making a decision.
Identified alternatives: List all the alternatives identified in order to further shortlist and finally zero-in on the result.
Evaluation method used: The rationale or the decision making process involved in short listing should be documented.
Evaluation results: Evaluate alternatives using the selected evaluation methods.
Recommended alternative: Based on the evaluation results, the optimum outcome is obtained.
DAR solution shall be approved by concerned stake holder in the meeting based on the rational.
Outputs
- The alternatives have been evaluated and the decision has been finalized /approved by the approval authority.
Validation
- Review of documentation giving rationale for selection.
Exit Criteria
- Decisions taken according to the evaluation results.