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. Please see Links for more information on the sources of inspiration for SCOPED.
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. For example, UCSF's Consultation Planning, Recording, and Summarizing (CPRS) service is based on SCOPED - the prompt sheet we use for CPRS is available here.
The SCOPED method can generally be adapted for use by individuals, teams, or organizations, in various domains. Dr. Belkora recommends the CReDITED process to adapt SCOPED to different applications.
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 each choice affects each objective, and Decide which choice is best.
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 building a Strategy table 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 consultants who employ sophisticated quantitative models to help decision-makers evaluate different alternatives against their objectives. Contact Jeff Belkora for more information, materials, and opportunities to learn more about SCOPED.