Evaluation Methods: Paired Comparison Analysis

The paired comparison analysis (PCA) forces individuals to blend all the criteria and ideas together, rather than separate them in a grid method. This analysis is a method of evaluating several options by a head-to-head comparison of all pairs of options taken in turn. In each evaluation, there are two questions that must be considered.

Which of these two options is the best or most important?
How much better or more important is it?

Still need more clarification? Let us exemplify. Suppose you are a manager that is analyzing 5 different trends in the business that you are managing. Within these trends, you are trying to decide which order to address these needs. Rather than ranking these options, you analyze each trend by judging their difference in importance. In doing so, you are essentially descending the “stairs” of importance to find the greatest solution.

Paired comparison analysis in a decision-making process is a powerful method for promoting give-and-take and consensus-building. Within these groups, members will have different ideas about which criteria is more important than others. To add, they also find that their teammates have different values and knowledge that, taken together, help everyone better understand the ideas at hand. This will educate your team on listening open-mindedly to each other and eliminating bias from their personal opinions. 

It is important to remember that the final solution or combination of solutions that you choose may not have scored the highest on a numerical scale. Rather, the solution that your group chooses will be a combination of its numerical level of ranking coupled with the ideas that different group members have shared throughout the process. Successful entrepreneurship depends on solid execution as well as innovative business concepts, which is why group decision-making is so important! 

As a business, you must creatively plan for bringing your product or service to the market, for gaining acceptance of the innovation, and for taking action to overcome the sticking points that could potentially prevent successfully cementing your company in the industry.

Are you interested in learning more beneficial decision-making techniques for your business? Feel free to visit our website to discover new ideas and trends!