SCOPED is a decision process inspired by the work of pioneers in the fields of decision-making, adult learning, and problem-solving. Jeff Belkora, Ph.D., has distilled some of these methods into a practical framework for facilitating problem solving in high-stakes situations, the SCOPED process. More information is available at www.scoped.org.
One application of SCOPED is to facilitate problem-solving between experts and laypeople. Dr. Belkora has used it extensively to help doctors guide patients to good decisions about their health.
The SCOPED process can generally be adapted for use by individuals, teams, or organizations, in various domains. SCOPED is the acronym that describes how people can structure the content and sequence of their dialogue about decisions, especially in high stakes situations that warrant critical reflection.
Decision makers must frame the Situation (what are the key facts?), identify possible Choices (what they can do), clarify Objectives (what they want), designate key People (who can help?), Evaluate how choices affect objectives, and Decide which choice is best and on what are the next steps.
The guide (or navigator, facilitator, coach, consultant, etc.) in any decision situation can help decision-maker(s) conduct effective due diligence on their decision by prompting them to formulate the issues around the SCOPED topics, producing an agenda; then analyze these issues, creating a summary notes document; before documenting a strategy and finally settling on a project plan.
The SCOPED decision process can be employed even in situations where it is not practical to create documents, such as when making a spot decision while in the field. Or, it can be adapted for use by experts who employ sophisticated quantitative models to help decision-makers evaluate different alternatives against their objectives. Review www.scoped.org and contact Jeff Belkora for more information, materials, and opportunities to learn about SCOPED.