Satisficing

Developed by Aleksander Moczko

Abstract

This article will investigate the Satisficing strategy for decision-making process in project management perspective. The name of this strategy comes from merging two words: satisfy and suffice, with the main purpose to speed-up the decision-making process by picking the first acceptable solution that meets the objectives . To narrow down the scope, context of cost and schedule performance indices will be investigated. Satisficing can be a useful approach in the situation where a project is behind the schedule, as it enables to make faster decisions and move the project forward. To address the shortcomings of studied strategy, the concept of “Illusion of Validity” will be introduced. This extension should provide a comprehensive picture of applying Satisficing strategy, while ensuring that it reaches its full potential and brings value to the project managers, who struggle with decision-making process. Lastly, two examples of potential applications will be presented along with a mathematical formulation to showcase the practical use of Satisficing strategy.

Suggested application

Example A

Example B

Draft of Bibliography (expected to grow significantly)

Herbert A. Simon, 1947, Administrative Behavior: A Study of Decision-Making Processes in Administrative Organization.

BARRY SCHWARTZ, YAKOV BEN-HAIM, CLIFF DACSO, 2010, What Makes a Good Decision? Robust Satisficing as a Normative Standard of Rational Decision Making

Artinger, Florian M., Gerd Gigerenzer, and Perke Jacobs. 2022. "Satisficing: Integrating Two Traditions." Journal of Economic Literature, 60 (2): 598-635.

Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.