Introduction
The decision-making process is a key activity of all organizations. Right decisions are a significant part of businesses’ success, a high level of performance, and competitive advantage. Thus, the choice of an appropriate decision support system based on the company’s needs and purposes is vital. This paper provides an analysis of the Paramount Decisions software. The report discusses its purpose, benefits, and operation principles. The paper refers to other decision support systems as well, addressing some of their features in comparison to Paramount Decisions’ ones. Finally, the analysis discusses how the presented software can support managerial decision making
The Purpose of the Software
As mentioned above, the decision support system selected for this review is Paramount Decisions. It was founded in 2014, which means that the software uses the latest technologies to support the decision-making process (“Paramount Decisions: A Simple and Structured Way”). The main purpose of Paramount Decisions is to help companies to make informed choices collectively and document them promptly. The software allows for transparency in the decision-making process as participants of a project have access to all actions and operations; they can communicate about the rationale of their choices with other stakeholders.
Another goal of Paramount Decisions is to allow a user to manage projects by offering easy-to-use tools and a cloud-based approach. With the help of this software, individuals can significantly reduce the time required to communicate with other stakeholders by working on the project simultaneously, which is a significant benefit for large businesses. In addition, Paramount Decisions is designed to help users in creating final reports in a short time, which also enhances the transparency of the decision-making process and allows for documenting it in detail.
How Paramount Decisions Operates
Paramount Decisions uses the process of Choosing by Advantages (CBA) (“Paramount Decisions Makes Choosing by Advantages Simpler”). It is a lean decision-making system that allows for increasing the time available for creating value by eliminating time-consuming processes. The software uses comparisons among alternatives or advantages, which allows stakeholders to see available options they can select from and the costs of their choices (“Introducing Paramount Decisions”).
Paramount Decisions provides an 8-step process to guide decision making. The steps include defining the possible choices, selecting alternatives, outlining related factors and criteria, reviewing attributes, analyzing advantages, evaluating the importance of benefits, considering costs, and making the final selection. The software provides a complete dashboard to manage all projects, templates, and decisions. It allows for dividing projects by their status, sharing updates with stakeholders instantly, and inviting all team members to work on the same issue.
Paramount Decisions is slightly different from other decision support systems. For example, the OpenRules software implements the Business Rules and Decision Management System (BRDMS) and provides open-source tools to develop a repository of business rules (“What OpenRules Can”). Lumina Analytica is based on spreadsheets, diagrams, and arrays as opposed to CBA (“What is Analytica?”). Compared to these two tools, Paramount Decisions may be considered more simple, practical, and appropriate for day-to-day use.
Supporting Managerial Decision Making
Decision support systems are beneficial for managerial decision-making as they allow for informed choices. Paramount Decisions can provide significant support by offering tools that help managers to see all available options and consider their advantages and disadvantages. For example, as mentioned above, the software allows for completing an 8-step decision-making process, during which individuals can compare possible choices and evaluate their potential impact on the business or a project. Such an approach helps to eliminate uncertainty as the connections between available options and outcomes are clear.
Another example of how Paramount Decisions can support managerial decision-making is that it allows individuals to discuss possible choices and alternatives with stakeholders. It means that the software provides an opportunity for collaboration and the exchange of ideas, which, in its turn, can lead to the enhanced quality of proposed options. Moreover, with the help of Paramount Decisions, managers can avoid making impulsive decisions or choices driven by biased opinions because they can discuss their rationale with other participants of the project.
Finally, Paramount Decisions allows individuals to receive feedback on their ideas and propositions rapidly, which also enhances managerial decision-making. Comparing all reviewed software tools, it is the only one aimed to reduce the time needed for choosing between available options. The utilization of Paramount Decisions helps to analyze all factors related to an issue, create and share reports about them, and receive instant feedback. It means that, with the help of this tool, managers can improve the quality of their decision-making significantly and, consequently, increase the level of the company’s performance.
Conclusion
Paramount Decisions is a valuable tool aimed to support the decision-making process by implementing CBA and the 8-step approach. It has a broad variety of features but is also a simple and easy-to-use software. Paramount Decisions can enhance managerial decision-making by helping individuals to review available options, costs, and possible outcomes, discuss their ideas with stakeholders and receive instant feedback on their propositions.
Works Cited
“Introducing Paramount Decisions.” Paramount Decisions, 2019. Web.
“Paramount Decisions Makes Choosing by Advantages Simpler.” BuiltWorlds, 2017. Web.
“Paramount Decisions: A Simple and Structured Way to Make Lean Decisions.” Paramount Decisions. 2017. Web.
“What is Analytica? Key Benefits.” Lumina, 2019. Web.
“What OpenRules Can Do.” OpenRules, 2018. Web.