options make decisions
We are makers and solution creators, and as makers optimising for solving problems it’s easy to focus on a working solution. The problem is solved.
But as in refactoring, where a working solution is not “done” (there’s a whole bunch of reorganising and rework that makes the solution beautiful, not just functional), a solved solution should not be the goal of problem solving.
The best solutions come from options, the best solutions come from multiple solutions. Sure you may come up with the best choice immediately. You may think of other alternatives, dismiss them and conclude that your original idea is the best. Now your original idea is validated by the dismissal of the competing alternatives.
How many options
1 option: One option is not a choice. Choosing by definition required two or more competing alternatives, and having only one option requires selecting that solution. One option is not even an option, it’s a trick. There’s an illusion of choice, but no real decision. It’s possible to believe that you are choosing that option, but it’s impossible to make a choice when the set of options is limited to one.
2 options: Two options is an improvement, it at least satisfies the definition of making a choice. We can start to make comparisons and consider the merits of each. Two options is a problem though, there is only the selected option and the rejected option. This means that your final selection option is validated by only a single other rejected option. A decision between two options is a coin-toss at best and a flawed choice at worst.
3 options: With three options the decision becomes more real, to be able to generated three competing solutions to a problem the problem space must be fairly well explored. The three options can be compared against one another selecting the best from each part, you can be fairly confident that your final selected choice is validated by an exploration of a larger range of options, increasing the confidence in your final decision.
4 options: Four options requires generating a large number of competing solutions. Attempting to come up with 4 options for a difficult problem is hard. It’s likely that the 4 options will fall into two distinct pairs of equivalent (or only slightly different) options. At best this is a split brain problem and at worst is a 2 options decision under the false guise of the final decision validated by the weight of more options.
5 options: Five options is noise! It increasing difficult to differentiate between the nuances of the options in a meaningful way. More options at this point is a distraction.
Making the decision
Only when there are options or choices can you really make a decision.
Do not let the practicalities of execution on the option cloud the comparison, only with competing alternatives can you make better decisions.
Leave execution of the decision to after the alternatives have been generated.