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Selecting Attributes to Measure the Achievement of Objectives

Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Box 90120, Durham, North Carolina 27708
Decision Research, 1201 Oak Street, Suite 200, Eugene, Oregon 97401
keeney{at}duke.edu
rgregory{at}interchange.ubc.ca

The foundation for any decision is a clear statement of objectives. Attributes clarify the meaning of each objective and are required to measure the consequences of different alternatives. Unfortunately, insufficient thought typically is given to the choice of attributes. This paper addresses this problem by presenting theory and guidelines for identifying appropriate attributes. We define five desirable properties of attributes: they should be unambiguous, comprehensive, direct, operational, and understandable. Each of these properties is discussed and illustrated with examples, including several cases in which one or more of the desirable properties are not met. We also present a decision model for selecting among the different types of natural, proxy, and constructed attributes.

Subject classifications: decision analysis:multiple criteria; organizational studies:effectiveness/performance; utility/preference:multiattribute.
History: Received October 2003; revision received May 2004; accepted August 2004.

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