Decision Analysis

12 units · Undergraduate

Spring: 12 units The most important decisions in life rarely have an obvious correct answer. Should a company launch a new product? Should a patient undergo a risky medical procedure? Should a city invest in flood protection today or wait for better information? Good decision making requires more than intuition. It requires a systematic way to assess competing objectives, tradeoffs, uncertainty, and the value of additional information. This course introduces the principles and tools of decision analysis that will help them make better decisions in business, medicine, industrial engineering, and public policy. Students learn how to structure complex decision problems, build and analyze decision models, evaluate uncertainty, and communicate recommendations that are logical, transparent, and defensible. Prerequisites: 36-211 or 70-207 or 36-200 or 36-247 or 36-217 or 36-200 or 36-207 or 36-201 or 36-225