Performance Analysis · The question · Component
The changing answer
What result would change the decision, and in which direction — the sharpest scoping question available.
The deliverable
What it is
Asking what answer would change the decision does two things: it establishes whether the analysis is worth running, and it sets how precise it needs to be.
Where the decision-maker cannot name a result that would change their mind, the analysis is being commissioned to support a decision already made.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The threshold
The result at which the decision flips.
3 attributes: Threshold · Agreed with · Agreed
LearnThe precision
How accurate the answer has to be.
3 attributes: Required precision · Effort implied · Cheaper answer adequate
LearnThe prior
What the decision-maker currently believes.
3 attributes: Current belief · Confidence · Distance to threshold
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Where nobody can name a result that would change their mind, the analysis is being commissioned to justify a decision.
The other components in the question
The decision
What will be decided on the basis of the answer — because analysis with no decision attached is exploration.
LearnThe precision needed
How accurate the answer has to be to be useful — because precision beyond the decision requirement is expense with no return.
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