Participants of the Decision Process

In general, a typical decision process involves up to four types of participants, either individuals or groups:

1. Stakeholders (also called decision problem owners): individuals or organizations that have a legitimate interest in the decision-making problem. Usually, these are the ones that need to make the final decision, and are also responsible for that decision.

2. Experts: People knowledgeable in the field so that they can provide information and advice relevant for the decision. They may contribute to the overall decision problem identification, to the definition of options, goals and criteria, and to the decision model development.

3. Decision analyst(s): Methodologists with experience in Decision Analysis, that is, the underlying methodology and tools. Often, they take the role of moderators or mediators of the decision-making team.

4. Users: People affected by the decision.