Logical Decisions® for Groups is a sophisticated decision analysis package that helps speed the group decision making process. This software helps any organization act and react more rapidly, productively, and profitably to complicated decisions.
Group consensus can be made more quickly with Logical Decisions for Groups, resulting in a more timely and profitable response to difficult decisions. Logical Decisions for groups enhances the individual version of Logical Decisions by capturing and saving input from an entire group. It provides a toll for groups to collect data, prioritize and compare alternatives to reach a consensus more quickly.
Logical Decisions 5.0 for Groups has several unique features.. Procedures for collecting a whole group's judgments all at once save valuable time in the decision making process. Data can be collected either by direct entry or through "button box" radio transmitters (similar to TV remote controls). These radio transmitters, developed by Fleetwood, Inc. of Holland, Michigan, allow up to 50 individuals to simultaneously key in their responses into Logical Decisions. Logical Decisions for Groups supports both the smaller Fleetwood Reply system with a numeric keypad only, and the more sophisticated Fleetwood Reply PS system with a full QWERTY keypad and the ability to capture both numerical responses and comments. A version of Logical Decisions for groups designed to run on local area networks (LANs) is also Available.
Other features unique to Logical Decisions for Groups include:
 | Individual Response Ranking Display graphically compares individual judgments. |
| Named Individual Response displays who responded when ranking individual judgments. |
| Anonymous Individual Response maintains anonymity of participants and their judgments, but only displays a group consensus report. |
| Questionnaire feature lets individuals prepare their judgments before the meeting. |
The following scenario illustrates the usefulness of Logical Decision for Groups. When planners come together to decide the best way to upgrade their company's car fleet, Logical Decisions for Groups makes the decision making process much easier. First, individuals can rate the importance of features in vehicles and compare their ratings with other group members. All participants answer a series of questions by keying in responses through hand-held remote input devices. Then, Logical Decisions compiles the responses and displays the results for the group. Finally, a ranking display will show what the group as a whole deems to be the most important features in vehicles for the company fleet and reveal the best choice for the group.
Like the individual version of Logical Decisions, the group version includes the following powerful decision analysis tools:
| Monte-Carlo Simulation allows you to integrate uncertainties into the structure of any decision, such as resale value of a company car fleet in five years. |
| Text Labels (e.g. High, Medium, Low) allow the inclusion of hard-to-quantify data like "car comfort." |
| Intelligent Data Import enables you to automatically scan through a database and select specific data that meets your cutoffs -- for example: the top 10 cars out of a larger database that meet specific criteria such as price, fuel economy, engine size, maintenance costs, etc. |
Although the Logical Decisions for Groups is the first group version to be developed, the 5.0 version label reflects the previous single user versions of Logical Decisions, also currently at version 5.0. Logical Decisions for Groups Version 5.0 is shipping now, and will carry a suggested list price of $1495. Logical Decisions for Groups will run on any PC system with Windows 95, 98, 2000, or NT.
The group response hardware must be purchased separately. The Fleetwood Reply system is approx. $250 per unit plus $2000 for the base receiving station. The Reply PS system is approx. $400 per unit. The network software for using LDWG over a LAN is $200 per station for the first 10 stations and $100 per station for additional stations.