Seems like a no-brainier, but this obvious statement "Goals and Objectives are key to effective decision models" is not always followed or understood when people build decision models. Words are just words for some, but words are important (and their meaning) when structuring a good/logical model.

Goal: The final purpose or aim; the end toward which effort is directed. Objectives: Something that ones efforts or actions are intended to attain or accomplish. Alternatives: Allowing or necessitating a choice between two or more things. A good decision model has a clear goal (i.e. to delimit the problem), measurable objectives, and alternative choices with some way to quantify the "best ones."

In a recent model, a client was using population, growth, and historical performance as decision criteria. We suggested thinking of these criterion as "objectives" -- there is a fine line between criteria and objective, but there is a difference.

This post discusses the importance of getting the “Objectives” right in a decision model. The three elements of a model are the Goal, the Objectives, and the Alternatives or choices. The Objectives in a model define what we want to achieve in order to reach the Goal.