Compare Options

Criteria tables, weighting, and a worked two-option example with numbers you fill in yourself.

A weighted criteria table turns "this one feels better" into a number you can defend. Rows are the options, columns are the criteria, each cell is a score from 1 to 5, and each criterion carries a weight from 1 to 5 set before any scoring happens.

The weights are where the real decision lives. If cost outweighs time for you this quarter, write cost as 5 and time as 2 — and then resist the urge to adjust those weights after you see the totals. Changing weights post-scoring is the comparison equivalent of moving the goalposts, and it makes the whole exercise worthless as a record.

Fill the table in one sitting. The worked example on this page compares two apartments on six criteria: rent, commute, floor area, natural light, lease flexibility, and noise. Copy the structure, replace the scores with your own, and keep the weights you set at the start.

Run a robustness flip before you commit: change one weight by two points and see whether the winner changes. If a small flip reverses the result, the options are genuinely close and either is defensible — in that case, pick the reversible one and stop calculating.

Keep the filled table as part of your decision record. When you revisit the decision months later, the table shows exactly which criteria drove the original choice, which is something memory cannot reconstruct honestly once you already know the outcome.

• Set weights (1–5) for every criterion before scoring any option.
• Score each option 1–5 per criterion; multiply score by weight; sum the column.
• Six criteria is the practical ceiling — past eight, weights stop carrying meaning.
• Robustness flip: change one weight by ±2; if the winner flips, choose the reversible option.
• Store the filled table with the decision record for later review.

Further reading

• Framing a Choice
• Thinking Traps