Product: Definitive Pro

Documenting the results should be an ongoing process throughout the alternatives analysis. This includes recording the analysis steps, data collected, evaluation results, and the final decision. Proper documentation ensures transparency and provides a reference for future analyses​.

The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a structured technique for organizing and analyzing complex decisions. It helps in prioritizing the evaluation criteria by making pairwise comparisons between them. AHP ensures that the most important criteria are appropriately weighted in the decision-making process.

In an alternatives analysis, cost should be treated as an independent variable. This approach allows the team to evaluate how different levels of benefit compare to different levels of cost, helping to identify which alternative offers the best value for money

It’s important to select team members with the right skills and expertise and to establish clear rules of engagement. This includes gaining and maintaining buy-in from key stakeholders and ensuring that the team is independent of any organizations that may have a conflict of interest​.

Some best practices include anticipating challenges in data collection, ensuring the analysis team is properly resourced, treating cost as an independent variable, and using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to prioritize evaluation criteria. These practices help improve the quality of the analysis and the decision-making process​.

For large, complex, and high-risk alternatives analyses, Definitive Pro is recommended as it offers robust capabilities for managing these evaluations. For smaller, less complex, and lower-risk analyses, Definitive Choice, a downloadable app, can be used​.

The key steps in conducting an alternatives analysis include: planning the analysis, building the evaluation model, identifying the alternatives, evaluating the alternatives, comparing the alternatives, and reporting the results. Each step ensures a systematic approach to decision-making​.

Conducting an alternatives analysis is crucial for effective investment management. It allows organizations to thoroughly evaluate different options and select the one that offers the best trade-off between benefits, costs, and risks, ensuring that resources are allocated effectively​.

An alternatives analysis (AoA) is an analytical comparison of the operational effectiveness, suitability, risk, and life cycle cost of different alternatives that satisfy a business or technical capability need. It aims to identify the best alternative by evaluating and comparing the benefits, costs, and risks associated with each option​.