Teamwork is a necessity for a lot of projects. It allows for individuals with different skill sets to come together to produce the desired outcome if done right.
One of the leading factors that ultimately determine if goals are met by a group is the decisions made throughout the project.
Leaving the decision-making process up to chance doesn’t always pay off. There are multiple situations where companies have done just that, resulting in failure. Let’s take a look.
Eliminates the Grey Area – The NASA example
The year was 1986, and NASA was preparing to launch the Space Shuttle Challenger for the 10th time.
Checks were being carried out to reduce the margin of error during launch. This included reviewing data, the experience gained from past missions, and simulations.
However, all the information collected was not enough to convince Bob Ebeling, a booster rocket engineer. He believed the launch would end in disaster, with the shuttle exploding. The reason for this is down to construction defects that couldn’t handle the high temperatures.
Unfortunately, management decided not to listen to Bob’s advice and launched the shuttle anyway. As Bob predicted, the shuttle went up in flames during the launch with all the seven astronauts inside.
This is a very extreme case, but it gets the point across that management neglected to take advice from an industry expert within the group, leading to the worst possible outcome.
What can be done to ensure the right decisions are made?
One way to prevent events like the one we just discussed from unfolding is using a data-driven tool that reduces the amount of risk when making important decisions.
TruthSift offers a scientific decision-making tool that allows organizations to make the right decisions, massively improving project success rates.
It does this using 4 crucial steps:
– Plotting what decision is being discussed.
– Allowing all stakeholders to contribute through comments.
– Giving stakeholders the ability to comment on other comments.
– The root node incorporates all the add comments and the backend algorithm automatically updates the root node (the decision) to show if it right or wrong.
As a result, businesses are likely to draw from the data to make the most informed decision, leading to a successful group project.
Using Truthsift as a Facilitator
When decisions need to be made during a group session, there often isn’t a facilitator. This is problematic as there is no guidance allowing for members to collaborate effectively.
A facilitator creates an environment where meetings can be structured efficiently. They also control the direction of the discussions, making sure important factors are considered to achieve the desired outcome.
The facilitator is typically picked by the group, selecting the individual with the highest amount of votes. This way, a neutral party can be picked that won’t sway certain team members’ opinions.
To summarize
The decision-making process cannot be taken lightly. From NASA to SMEs, the decisions made in groups directly impact the success of the overall project.
No matter what approach is used to validate the action, time should be taken to consider all implications through a comprehensive analysis of the available data, group members’ experiences, and other useful information.
Contact us to find out more about our system and how it can help you today
