Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Treatment
Adaptive
Management
Structured
Decision-
Making
Fig. 8.4 Structured decision making and adaptive management differ somewhat, especially in
that active adaptive management emphasizes the utilization of multiple replicated management
experiments. As such, learning may be faster when such experiments are possible. However,
adaptive management and structured decision making are terms often used interchangeably
Structured Decision Making Steps
1.
Define the Problem
- The first step in a structured decision making process is
a clear and concise evaluation and articulation of the problem being addressed
and the motivation underlying the need to address the problem. Although
identifying the problem may seem self-evident, failure to clearly articulate the
problem to all stakeholders and subsequent agreement by stakeholders as to the
nature of the problem is often cited as the primary reason management and
policy actions fail, or worse, face future litigation. To facilitate this process,
decision makers need to ask:
(a) What specific decision(s) have to be made?
(b) What is scope of the decision (e.g., geographic, temporal)?
(c) Will the decision be iterated over time?
(d) What are the constraints within which the decision will be made (e.g.,
logistical, ecological, legal, temporal, financial)?
(e) What stakeholders should be involved in the decision process and what are
their respective roles?
2.
Identify the Objectives
- The centerpiece of the structured decision making
process is a set of clearly elucidated objectives. Together they define the “why
do we care” about the decision and thereby facilitate the search for alternatives,
and become the metric for comparing and evaluating management outcomes.
When defining objectives, there are many considerations to ensure that decision
makers can adequately evaluate alternatives. Ideally, objectives are stated in
quantitative terms that relate to parameters that can be measured and thus
evaluated. More importantly, objectives are meant to focus efforts on the impor-
tance of the decision in a consistent and transparent manner that exposes key
trade-offs and uncertainties so decision makers can generate creative and proac-
tive alternatives. Objectives should be complete, controllable, concise, measur-
able, and understandable [
29
]. To achieve this end requires “brainstorming” with
