synthesis / analysis techniqUe 98WeightedMatrix Once your team has generated multiple design concepts, a weighted matrix can help identify and prioritize the most promising opportunities. 1 Theteamhasdonetheheavyliftingrequiredofthemintheearlyphasesofthedesignprocess,and alloftheworkhasinspiredarangeofpromisingearlydesignideas.Sketchesandearlyprototypes aregeneratinglivelydiscussionsamongteammembersaboutwhichconceptsaremostlikelyto connectwiththeuser,andfilltheproductopportunitygapsinthemarketplace. However,therearetimeswhenthesheernumberofdesignoptionscreatedearlyintheprocesscan createuncertaintyamongteammembers(andforthosenewtothedesignprocess,canevencause abitofdistress).Entertheweightedmatrix,whichcanbeusedasamethodtohelpyoumanagea growingnumberofpotentialdesignideas.Theuseofthisanalysistechniquecreatesaforumfor shareddecisionmaking,andcanhelpovercomethecommonbiasesonmultidisciplinaryteams. Theconversationsitgeneratesamongteammemberscanbeequallyasusefulasitsresults. Theconceptbehindtheweightedmatrixissimplebutpowerful:essentially,thematrixrankspoten- tialdesignopportunitiesagainstkeysuccesscriteria.The"criteria"oftheweightedmatrixrepre- sentstheprimarymeasuresofproductsuccessratedonascale,asdefinedbytheproductteam andorganizationalstakeholders.Alistingof"opportunities"representsthedesignideasthatelicit themostseriousinterestfromtheteam.Together,thematrixcanbeusedtobringthenumberof 1.JohnCaganandCraigVogelintroduce theweightedmatrixforidentifyingproduct opportunitiesintheirbook,Creating Breakthrough Products,PrenticeHall,2002. 2.Seenote1above. 3.Seenote1above.