MENTAL MODEL · M6793

Pugh

DecideHigh supportDecision Science

Included

Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

A concept selection method proposed by Stuart Pugh, where a baseline concept is chosen and other concepts are compared against it criterion by criterion (+ better / − worse / S same), and a composite score is calculated by summing the pluses and minuses.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Relative comparison simplifies decision-making. No absolute scoring is needed, only relative judgments, which reduces evaluation difficulty and is especially suitable for early concept screening.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Absolute scoring is subjective and difficult. Pugh selects a baseline concept, and other concepts are only compared against it criterion by criterion (+ better / − worse / S same), summing to get relative superiority. This reduces 'absolute scoring' to 'relative comparison', lowering cognitive load and speeding up early screening.

MINIMUM ACTION

In progress 0/5

Practice this model in one real situation:

Select an existing/reference concept as the baseline.
List evaluation criteria.
Compare each candidate against the baseline criterion by criterion: + / − / S.
Tally net scores for each concept and select the best
can iterate with the winner as the new baseline.

Check to track your progress (stored locally)

Learning progress0%

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Source support: Explicit

link
en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PughZH · Explicit
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