Decision Matrix Builder

Build a weighted decision matrix to objectively compare alternatives.

Standalone Usage

Can be invoked directly:

•"Help me compare these three database options"
•"Create a decision matrix for AWS vs GCP vs Azure"
•"Score these frameworks against my requirements"

Standard Criteria (Stack Comparison)

Criterion	Description
cost	Total cost of ownership
ops_overhead	Operational complexity
reliability	Uptime, failover, DR
scalability	Handle growth and spikes
security	Security features, compliance
vendor_lock_in	Migration difficulty
local_dev_dx	Developer experience
offline_capability	Offline support level (when required)

Scoring Guide (1-5)

Score	Meaning
1	Poor / Very expensive / High overhead
2	Below average
3	Average / Acceptable
4	Good / Affordable / Low overhead
5	Excellent / Very cheap / Minimal overhead

Scoring Examples

Cost Score:

•5: < $50/mo
•4: $50-200/mo
•3: $200-500/mo
•2: $500-1000/mo
•1: > $1000/mo

Ops Overhead Score:

•5: Fully managed, zero ops (Vercel, Firebase)
•4: Minimal ops, managed platform (App Runner, Supabase)
•3: Some ops required (ECS, Cloud Run)
•2: Significant ops (EKS, GKE managed)
•1: Heavy ops (self-managed K8s, bare metal)

Offline Capability Score (when required):

•5: Strong offline-first (CRDT, local-first, guaranteed sync)
•4: Session-durable (IndexedDB, background sync)
•3: Transient offline (graceful degradation, retry logic)
•2: Limited buffering, data at risk
•1: No offline support

Process

Step 1: Define Criteria

Use standard criteria or customize for the comparison.

Step 2: Gather Weights

Ask user to assign importance (1-5) to each criterion.

Default weights by ops maturity:

Criterion	Low Ops	Medium Ops	High Ops
cost	4	3	3
ops_overhead	5	3	2
reliability	3	4	5
scalability	2	3	4
security	3	4	5
vendor_lock_in	2	3	4
local_dev_dx	4	3	3

Step 3: Score Options

Rate each option on each criterion (1-5).

Step 4: Calculate Weighted Scores

code

weighted_score = Σ(score × weight) / Σ(weights)

Step 5: Rank Options

Order by weighted total, highest first.

Output Contract

yaml

decision_matrix:
  comparison_name: "<what's being compared>"

  criteria:
    - name: "<criterion>"
      weight: <1-5>
      description: "<what it measures>"

  options:
    - id: "<option id>"
      name: "<option name>"
      scores:
        <criterion>: <1-5>
      weighted_total: <calculated>
      rank: <1-N>
      notes: "<any notes>"

  summary:
    winner: "<option id>"
    runner_up: "<option id>"
    key_differentiators:
      - "<what made the difference>"

Presentation Format

Criterion	Weight	Option A	Option B	Option C
Cost	4	4 ($$)	3 ($$$)	5 ($)
Ops Overhead	3	5	3	4
Reliability	4	4	5	3
Scalability	3	3	5	4
Security	4	4	5	3
Lock-in	2	2	3	5
Local Dev DX	4	5	3	4
Weighted Total	-	3.92	3.83	3.79
Rank	-	1st	2nd	3rd

Example: Database Comparison

yaml

decision_matrix:
  comparison_name: "Database for SaaS application"

  criteria:
    - name: "cost"
      weight: 4
    - name: "ops_overhead"
      weight: 5
    - name: "scalability"
      weight: 3
    - name: "query_flexibility"
      weight: 4

  options:
    - id: "supabase"
      name: "Supabase (PostgreSQL)"
      scores:
        cost: 4
        ops_overhead: 5
        scalability: 3
        query_flexibility: 5
      weighted_total: 4.31
      rank: 1

    - id: "firebase"
      name: "Firebase (Firestore)"
      scores:
        cost: 3
        ops_overhead: 5
        scalability: 5
        query_flexibility: 2
      weighted_total: 3.69
      rank: 2

    - id: "aurora"
      name: "Aurora Serverless v2"
      scores:
        cost: 2
        ops_overhead: 4
        scalability: 5
        query_flexibility: 5
      weighted_total: 3.88
      rank: 2

Custom Criteria

For non-stack comparisons, define custom criteria:

yaml

# Example: Framework comparison
criteria:
  - name: "learning_curve"
    weight: 4
    description: "Time to productivity"
  - name: "ecosystem"
    weight: 3
    description: "Libraries, tools, community"
  - name: "performance"
    weight: 3
    description: "Runtime performance"
  - name: "hiring"
    weight: 4
    description: "Availability of developers"