Weighted Scoring Method
Updated 2026-08-13
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The weighted scoring method assigns different weights to evaluation criteria, scores each alternative on every criterion, and sums the weighted scores into a composite result. The core proposition is that not all criteria matter equally, so a decision that treats them as equivalent is silently asserting an opinion nobody has examined. The key qualification is that the output is only as good as the weights: weights set by intuition or adjusted to produce a preferred answer make the arithmetic a decoration rather than a check.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Criteria list: write down the dimensions that actually distinguish the options you are comparing. - Weight source: derive each weight from a stated method or from an explicit judgment you record. - Sensitivity check: vary the weights systematically and see whether the final ranking survives.
Anchor fast decisions
Judgment is holistic and therefore hard to inspect or dispute, while a weighted sum decomposes the same judgment into criteria, weights, and scores that can each be examined. Making importance numeric forces the trade-off into the open, so disagreement can be located at a specific weight instead of argued as a general impression. The sensitivity test then reveals whether the conclusion depends on assumptions nobody defends.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision-matrix_methodverified
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