Workshop Schedule - SDP Europe 2025 Decision Quality Conference

Workshop Schedule

Workshops can be booked at the same time as the conference, or sessions can be added at a later date.

The workshop fees include light lunch and coffee breaks.

Please note that it is not possible to attend concurrent workshops.

As with the conference, the workshop fees are free of VAT and do not include overnight accommodations (see lodging link).

CANCELLATION POLICY INFORMATION

In-person Workshops registration may be cancelled by September 20, 2025, 11:59 PM PT for a full refund less $100.00 processing fee.
Your cancellation must be received by the stated cancellation deadline and will only be accepted in writing to: events@decisionprofessionals.com.
No shows for the event will not receive a refund or credit.
Substitution request can be sent via email at any time up to the week prior to the event. Registration can be transferred to another person within your organization with the same registration type.

Abstract:

This workshop teaches a structured and practical approach to making better decisions, especially when facing multiple, often conflicting, objectives. While we briefly address common decision challenges (incomplete information, time pressure, multiple stakeholders, and uncertainty), the core focus is on applying Decision Analysis (DA) and Decision Quality (DQ) principles to multi-objective problems.

A key element of the workshop is how to handle intangible trade-offs—such as company reputation, strategic advantage, or “team-playerness of a new hire—within a transparent, analytical, and value-driven decision-making process. Participants will learn how to bring clarity to “soft” objectives and to quantify them, so that they can be incorporated in decision models along with factors that have a natural scale for quantification.

The workshop is interactive, encouraging participants to connect the methodology with their own experiences. Attendees will leave with practical tools—including spreadsheet-based methods—that can be applied to both professional and personal decisions (e.g., choosing a job, investment, house, or even a life partner).

Abstract:

With finite internal decision expertise and budget for external support, organizations can find it a challenge to achieve Decision Quality (DQ) on even a limited number of the most impactful strategic project and portfolio decisions. But each of those big decisions spawns dozens, even hundreds, of follow-on decisions. Determining how to add support for all of those too is simply infeasible, even though their cumulative impact rivals that of the strategic decisions that spawned them.

The usual answer? Train more people. The usual concern? Time, both to learn and to follow the approach. People don’t typically question the destination of Decision Quality (DQ), but rather the vehicle proposed to get there. So what if we used a vehicle that better fit the context?

The traditional vehicle is the Dialogue Decision Process (DDP). In fact, several organizations have developed derivations of the DDP to fit their organizational structure and culture. Other companies opt for a tailored approach, assessing the elements of DQ at the beginning of the process, and then using tools and techniques to improve the elements that were low. These approaches work well in an organizational context, where multiple people wear different hats (governance / decision maker, decision facilitator, project team, subject matter expert, etc.). However, the vast majority of the decisions made in a company – the follow-on decisions described above – are made at an individual or team level without a decision professional in sight. What vehicle can people use in those situations to arrive at Decision Quality?

This workshop focuses on a streamlined, yet robust framework for achieving DQ. It’s the 20% of decision science tools and techniques that enable someone to make 80% of the decisions they face.

Through a blend of guided discussion and co-creation, participants will contribute their own ideas and insights based on their knowledge and experience of achieving DQ, while also learning a proven process for achieving DQ, developed and honed over the last decade. Walk away with ready-to-use insights and methods for scaling decision quality across your organization—without having to scale your resources.

Abstract:

Decision analysts have found influence diagrams to be a highly effective graphical tool for structuring complex problems into tractable models to inform effective decision making. But, even with influence diagrams, novices and even experienced decision professionals still find model structuring to be the most challenging aspect of decision quality. We have found that Assista, a collaborative AI assistant for Analytica, can be surprisingly helpful in model structuring with influence diagrams.

In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to:

Use influence diagrams to structure complex decision problems effectively on your own and as a facilitation tool for a group of decision makers, stakeholders, and domain experts.
Apply Assista, an AI assistant, to help develop influence diagrams to represent decision problems in domains of your choosing.
Use Assista to help add formulas to convert the diagram into a computable model.
Use the AI assistant to help assess probability distributions to express uncertain values for key assumptions.
Review the results to see where the AI assistant gets things right and where you need to make improvements, either yourself or by asking the AI to help refine them.
Better understand the sometimes unexpected strengths and limitations of an AI assistant, consider their likely evolution in the near future, and the effects on decision professionals’ practice.

This 4-hour workshop will include real-world examples and practical exercises using an AI assistant. Both new and experienced decision professionals will learn new methods and gain insights into the effective use of AI assistants.

Participants need a Windows laptop.

Abstract:

In today’s volatile and uncertain world, leaders must navigate an increasingly complex decision-making landscape. Traditional forecasting often falls short in the face of disruption and ambiguity. Scenario Planning offers a powerful alternative—enabling organizations to explore diverse, plausible futures and develop resilient strategies that thrive across a range of outcomes.

This hands-on workshop equips participants with the tools and mindset to apply Scenario Planning to real-world strategic challenges. Using a business expansion case study, attendees will learn a step-by-step approach to identify critical uncertainties, construct meaningful scenarios, and extract strategic insights. The process helps reshape the thinking of key decision-makers and teams, fostering a proactive and adaptive approach to strategy.

At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

Identify and prioritize the key drivers of change and uncertainty in their environment.
Craft compelling future scenarios that illuminate hidden risks and opportunities.
Develop robust, forward-looking strategies that remain effective across multiple possible futures.

Scenario Planning doesn’t predict the future—it prepares for it.

Abstract:

The workshop introduces our structured approach to better decision-making,combining theoretical insights with hands-on, interactive sessions. Participants will engage with our self-developed and open-source decision-support system Entscheidungsnavi that simultaneously trains decision skills.

The web-based tool is built on a five-step framework - Decision Statement, Fundamental Objectives, Alternatives, Consequences Table, and Results - inspired by the concept of Value-Focused Thinking and aligned with the standards of Decision Quality. To evaluate and compare alternatives, the tool applies the Multi-Attribute Utility Theory.

To fully participate in the interactive components, participants are required to bring a laptop. Group work will focus on navigating diverse decision situations using the tool, offering practical experience in applying structured decision-making techniques.

Abstract:

Optimization is the core of the most powerful portfolio analysis methods. Many—even experienced—DAs have limited experience using these tools or even knowing when they can be used. This class will provide hands-on practice and teaching about when and how to use the tools. Users will learn how portfolio frames differ from project frames, when optimization is appropriate, and some tips and tricks for linear optimization. This workshop will also include a demo of stochastic optimization.

The portfolio optimization workshop is designed for people with good Excel skills who wish to gain experience with portfolio analysis using optimization tools.

Additional Information

Attendees will learn:

Important framing questions to ask for portfolio analysis
The range of analysis methods and how to determine which is best for the problem
Running Excel Solver for simple portfolio cases
Practice with a linear optimization tool pre-loaded with data. Uses What'sBest! From Lindo
Demos of Stochastic Optimization and Graphical Portfolio Comparison

Attendees must have a computer with Excel for Windows. It is best if you can install the free version of What'sBest! with a provisional license (provided by the instructor a few weeks before the class). Download link for What'sBest! version 19.

https://lindo.com/index.php/ls-downloads/try-what-sbest

Please note: If you are using a company computer, it may be difficult to obtain organizational permission to load What’sBest! It may be best to use a personal device.

Attendees may retain the models used in the class.