Decision-making templates
Visually map strategies and allow people to hop in and leave feedback or contribute on-demand with Miro's decision-making templates collection, from Tree Diagrams to Dot Voting templates. Analyze all possible scenarios and outcomes together with your team.
69 templates
- 0 likes119 uses
Decision Matrix Template
The Decision Matrix Template is an intuitive visual tool for structuring and evaluating multiple choices against distinct criteria. Presenting options in a comparative layout helps distill complex decisions into a digestible format.
- 4 likes1K uses
Decision Tree Template
Making difficult decisions gets easier when you can look clearly at your choices and visualize the outcomes. That’s just what a decision tree will help you do, empowering you to invest your time and money with confidence. A decision tree is a flowchart that looks just how you’d imagine—with “branches” that represent your available choices. It provides a stylized way to play out a series of decisions and see where they lead before you commit your real-world resources, which is especially valuable for startups and smaller companies.
- 1.2K likes12K uses
- 1.2K likes12K uses
- 11 likes3.9K uses
Problem Tree Template
The Problem Tree Template is a visual tool crafted to examine a primary issue, its consequential effects, and its foundational causes. Picture it: The tree's trunk embodies the central dilemma, its branches display the direct ramifications, and the roots delve into the underlying reasons. By organizing a challenge in such an illustrative manner, users can comprehensively grasp their situation.
- 207 likes2.5K uses
- 477 likes2.5K uses
Theory of Change
Outline a roadmap to bring change to your organization with the Theory of Change Template. Become the transformational agent inside your organization.
- 18 likes1.5K uses
Eisenhower Matrix Template
Have an overwhelming list of to-dos? Prioritize them based on two key factors: urgency and importance. It worked for American president Dwight D. Eisenhower, and it can work for you—this decision-making framework will help you know where to start and how to plan your day. With our template, you can easily build an Eisenhower Matrix with a quadrant of key areas (Do, Schedule, Delegate, and Don’t Do) and revisit it throughout the day as your priorities change.
- 17 likes1.5K uses
Impact/Effort Matrix Template
Growing organizations have countless to-do’s and only so many hours in a day (or weeks before a big launch) to get them done. That’s where an impact effort matrix comes in. It gives you a quick visual guide to help prioritize your tasks and know exactly what’s worth doing. Using our template, you can create a matrix that organizes your activities into four main categories: quick wins that are low effort, effort-intensive projects that provide long-term returns, fill-ins that are low effort but low value, and time-wasters.
- 5 likes1.4K uses
Risk Matrix Template
A risk matrix--also known as a probability matrix, risk assessment matrix, or impact matrix--is a tool that allows you to evaluate overall risk by visualizing potential risks in a diagram. The tool allows you to weigh the severity of a potential risk against the probability that the risk might occur. Risk matrices are useful for risk management because they visually represent the risks involved in a decision. This empowers you to avoid worst-case scenarios by preparing contingencies or mitigation plans.
- 19 likes1.4K uses
SWOT Analysis Template
When you’re developing a business strategy, it can be hard to figure out what to focus on. A SWOT analysis helps you hone in on key factors. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, like your employees, intellectual property, marketing strategy, and location. Opportunities and threats are usually external factors, like market fluctuations, competition, prices of raw materials, and consumer trends. Conduct a SWOT analysis whenever you want to explore opportunities for new businesses and products, decide the best way to launch a product, unlock your company’s potential, or use your strengths to develop opportunities.
- 9 likes1.1K uses
4 L's Retrospective Template
So you just completed a sprint. Teams busted their humps and emotions ran high. Now take a clear-eyed look back and grade the sprint honestly—what worked, what didn’t, and what can be improved. This approach (4Ls stand for liked, learned, lacked, and longed for) is an invaluable way to remove the emotion and look at the process critically. That’s how you can build trust, improve morale, and increase engagement—as well as make adjustments to be more productive and successful in the future.
- 4 likes1K uses
Decision Tree Template
Making difficult decisions gets easier when you can look clearly at your choices and visualize the outcomes. That’s just what a decision tree will help you do, empowering you to invest your time and money with confidence. A decision tree is a flowchart that looks just how you’d imagine—with “branches” that represent your available choices. It provides a stylized way to play out a series of decisions and see where they lead before you commit your real-world resources, which is especially valuable for startups and smaller companies.
- 12 likes923 uses
Fishbone Diagram Template
What is the best way to solve any problem your team faces? Go straight to the root. That means identifying the root causes of the problem, and fishbone diagrams are designed to help you do it best. Also known as the Ishikawa Diagram (named after Japanese quality control expert Kaoru Ishikawa), fishbone diagrams allow teams to visualize all possible causes of a problem, to explore and understand how they fit together holistically. Teams can also use fishbone diagrams as a starting point for thinking about what the root cause of a future problem might be.
- 142 likes716 uses
- 4 likes657 uses
Tree Diagram Template
The tree diagram template helps you organize and present complex information. One of its key benefits is its ability to provide unparalleled visual clarity. It enables you to simplify complicated ideas into a structured, hierarchical format, making it easier to understand and communicate. This template enhances brainstorming sessions, project planning, and decision-making processes by mapping out relationships and dependencies clearly and effortlessly. You can now say goodbye to information overload and immerse yourself in a visual journey that simplifies complexity with the tree diagram template.
- 4 likes638 uses
Dot Voting Template
Dot voting, also known as “sticker voting,” “dotmocracy,” or “voting with dots”, allows teams to point out issues in a series of potential solutions or to prioritize tasks when presented with various options. Dot voting is different from the default “one-share” or “one-vote” rule. Instead, each person in the group is given as many votes (or “points”) as can be filled. Those votes can either all be cast for one idea, or distributed among many ideas. You can use dot voting any time your team prioritizes options or agrees on a direction to take for a high-stakes project.
- 3 likes606 uses
Porter's Five Forces Template
Developed by Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter, Porter’s Five Forces has become one of the most popular and highly regarded business strategy tools available for teams. Use Porter’s Five Forces to measure the strength of your current competition and decide which markets you might be able to move into. Porter’s Five Forces include: supplier power, buyer power, rivalry among existing competitors, the threat of substitute products or services, the threat of substitute products and services, and the threat of new entrants.
- 171 likes541 uses
- 6 likes530 uses
To-do List Template
A to-do list helps teams manage, organize, and prioritize their upcoming tasks. As a result, they can improve time management and streamline work operations. Using Miro’s to-do list template, teams create interactive, collaborative, and user-friendly task lists.
- 2 likes526 uses
Ecomap Template
The Ecomap Template illustrates the multifaceted relationships and environmental interactions encircling an individual or entity. Determine crucial patterns and dynamics by providing a clear and comprehensive visualization of how different systems intertwine and influence each other.
- 1 likes491 uses
Pros and Cons List Template
A pros and cons list is a simple but powerful decision-making tool used to help understand both sides of an argument. Pros are listed as arguments in favor of making a particular decision or action. Cons are listed arguments against it. By creating a list that details both sides of the argument, it becomes easier to visualize the potential impact of your decision. To make your pros and cons list even more objective, it can help to weight each pro and con against the others. You can then present your decision with confidence, making a strong argument for why it’s the right one.
- 4 likes392 uses
Comparison Chart Template
Eliminate wasted time and learn to make snap decisions both with your team and on your own. Comparison charts are perfect for collaboration, as they allow you to establish differences between ideas or products and get a full picture of the risks and benefits that come with them.
- 4 likes386 uses
RACI Matrix Template
The RACI Matrix is an essential management tool that helps teams keep track of roles and responsibilities and can avoid confusion during projects. The acronym RACI stands for Responsible (the person who does the work to achieve the task and is responsible for getting the work done or decision made); Accountable (the person who is accountable for the correct and thorough completion of the task); Consulted (the people who provide information for the project and with whom there is two-way communication); Informed (the people who are kept informed of progress and with whom there is one-way communication).
- 1 likes331 uses
Priority Matrix Template
If you need a little more than a basic to-do list, then you’d probably benefit from a Priority Matrix. The Priority Matrix template is designed to help you determine which tasks are critical so you can focus on the most urgent needs. In a 2x2 matrix, input your priorities based on whether they must be completed with high or low urgency and are of high or low importance. Applicable to project management and personal management alike, use the Priority Matrix template to improve business processes, create efficiency, remove blockers, and reduce operational waste.
- 8 likes324 uses
Start, Stop, Continue Template
Giving and receiving feedback can be challenging and intimidating. It’s hard to look back over a quarter or even a week and parse a set of decisions into “positive” and “negative.” The Start Stop Continue framework was created to make it easier to reflect on your team’s recent experiences. The Start Stop Continue template encourages teams to look at specific actions they should start doing, stop doing, and continue doing. Together, collaborators agree on the most important steps to be more productive and successful.
- 2 likes315 uses
Pugh Matrix Template
The Pugh Matrix Template is a powerful tool that enhances your decision-making process. It enables you to systematically compare and evaluate multiple options, leading to more informed and objective decisions. Using this template, you streamline your decision-making process, identify the best alternatives, and ultimately achieve better outcomes.
- 174 likes310 uses
- 10 likes309 uses
Six Thinking Hats Template
The Six Thinking Hats by Dr. Edward de Bono was created as an alternative to argument, it is designed to help teams explore and develop ideas collaboratively. Use this template to boost creative thinking and get different perspectives so you and your team can make better-informed decisions.
- 0 likes284 uses
Likert Scale Template
It’s not always easy to measure complex, highly subjective data — like how people feel about your product, service, or experience. But the Likert scale is designed to help you do it. This scale allows your existing or potential customers to respond to a statement or question with a range of phrases or numbers (e.g., from “strongly agree” to “neutral,” to “strongly disagree,” or from 1 to 5). The goal is to ask your customer some specific questions to turn into easy-to-interpret actionable user insights.
- 3 likes264 uses
5 Whys Template
Ready to get to the root of the problem? There’s no simpler way to do it than the 5 Whys technique. You’ll start with a simple question: Why did the problem happen? Then you’ll keep asking, up to four more times, until the answer becomes clear and you can work toward a solution. And Miro’s features enhance the approach: You can ask team members questions in chat or @mention them in comments, and use color-coded sticky notes to call out issues that are central to the problem at hand.
- 2 likes236 uses
Risk Assessment Template
Every business faces risk. The more you factor it into your decisions early on, the better prepared you’ll be to avoid, absorb, or mitigate the risks you encounter. Use Miro’s risk assessment template to collaborate on a clear-eyed risk assessment that ensures you’ll never be caught unawares.
- 4 likes228 uses
Competitive Analysis Template
Developing a great product starts with knowing the lay of the land (meaning who you’re up against) and answering a few questions: Who are your competitors? How does your product or service compare? What makes you stand out? A competitive analysis will help find the answers, which can ultimately shape your product, value prop, marketing, and sales strategies. It’s a great exercise when a big business event is about to occur — like a new product release or strategic planning session.
- 52 likes220 uses
- 1 likes194 uses
BCG Matrix Template
Use the BCG matrix template to make informed and strategic decisions about growth opportunities for your business. Assign your portfolio of products to different areas within the matrix (cash cows, dogs, question marks, stars) to prioritize where you should invest your time and money to see the best results.
- 3 likes177 uses
Blue Ocean 4 Actions Framework Template
For entrepreneurs, so much comes down to new users—how to attract them, impress them, and convert them to loyal customers. This template, designed by the authors of Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, will help you maximize value for you and your customers alike. Using the template’s four steps (divided into easy columns), you’ll easily evaluate your products in more innovative ways and make sure money is being spent in areas that really matter.
- 3 likes171 uses
Bull's Eye Diagram Template
When you’re a growing organization, every decision can feel like it has make-or-break consequences—which can lead to decision paralysis, an inability to prioritize, inefficient meetings, and even low morale. If that sounds like you, put a Bull’s Eye Diagram to work. True to its name, a Bull’s Eye Diagram uses a model of concentric circles to help companies establish priorities, make critical decisions, or discuss how to remove or overcome obstacles.
- 5 likes169 uses
Opportunity Canvas Template
Features and capabilities — they make or break a product, which is why companies spend so much time and effort focusing on them. Sound like you? Try it with an Opportunity Canvas. This streamlined one-pager gives you and your team the power to improve your product by exploring the use cases, potential setbacks, strategies, challenges, and metrics. An Opportunity Canvas is ideal if you’ve already built a product, because you don’t need to consider the operational or revenue model.
- 9 likes151 uses
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About the Decision-Making Templates Collection
A decision making template is a structured cognitive framework designed to help individuals and teams evaluate options, calculate risks, and reach a definitive conclusion. Rather than relying on "gut feeling," these templates provide a visual logic for weighing competing priorities. They transform a subjective debate into an objective analysis, ensuring that the final choice is backed by data and aligned with long-term goals.
Key Components of a Decision Making Template
A professional decision making template acts as an "audit trail" for your logic. Every high-performance Miro board should include these five core elements:
The Decision Statement: A clear, one-sentence "How might we..." or "Which... should we..." statement to anchor the focus.
Evaluation Criteria: The specific factors that matter most (e.g., Budget, Speed, Alignment).
Stakeholder Input Area: A space to capture the perspectives of those who will be affected by the choice.
Risk/Trade-off Analysis: A section acknowledging what you are giving up by choosing one path over another (Opportunity Cost).
The Action Plan/Next Steps: A decision without an action is just a thought. This section defines who does what now that the choice is made.
Decision Pro Tips: How to Choose with Confidence
A template provides the structure, but these professional strategies ensure the output is high-quality. Apply these three "Pro Tips" to your Miro board to elevate your team's judgment:
1. Kill the "Yes/No" Binary (The Rule of Three)
Pro Tip: Never use a template to decide between just two options (Should we do X or not?). Research shows that binary decisions have a 50% failure rate. Always force at least three viable alternatives into your Miro board. Adding a third option shifts the brain from "Should we do this?" to "Which of these is best?", which significantly reduces emotional bias and improves the final outcome.
2. Practice "Pre-Mortem" Thinking
Pro Tip: Before committing to an option, imagine it has already failed miserably. Use a dedicated section of your template to work backward from a hypothetical disaster. Ask: "What went wrong?" This technique, known as a Pre-Mortem, uncovers hidden risks and "groupthink" that people are often too polite to mention during a standard brainstorming session.
3. Apply "Decision Reversibility" Logic
Pro Tip: Categorize your decisions as "Type 1" (Irreversible) or "Type 2" (Reversible).
Type 1 (One-way doors): High stakes, hard to undo (e.g., merging with a company). Spend 80% of your time here.
Type 2 (Two-way doors): Low stakes, easy to undo (e.g., changing a button color). Use a "Fast-Track" template and decide in minutes. Labeling your Miro cards this way prevents "over-thinking" small choices and saves your mental energy for the big ones.
Which Decision Template Do You Need?
Different problems require different logical engines. Select the Miro template that matches your specific challenge:
The Weighted Decision Matrix (Pugh Matrix):
Best For: Comparing multiple complex options (e.g., choosing a new software vendor).
The Goal: To score options against specific criteria (Cost, Ease of Use, Security) to see which one mathematically wins.
The Six Thinking Hats (Edward de Bono):
Best For: Group meetings where opinions are clashing.
The Goal: To force the team to look at a decision from 6 distinct angles (Logic, Emotion, Caution, Optimism, Creativity, and Process Control).
The Vroom-Yetton Decision Model:
Best For: Leaders deciding how much to involve their team.
The Goal: To determine if you should decide alone, consult the group, or delegate the decision entirely based on the situation's urgency and importance.
The Pro/Con/Mitigation List:
Best For: Rapid, everyday business choices.
The Goal: An evolution of the standard list that adds a third column: "How can we fix this con?"
How to use the decision-making templates in Miro
Select a template: Choose a decision-making template from Miro's extensive library. You can browse through various options and select the one that best fits your needs.
Customize the template: Once you've selected a template, customize it to suit your specific decision-making context. Add or remove sections, adjust the layout, and input relevant data.
Invite team members: Share the template with your team members and invite them to collaborate. Miro's real-time collaboration features allow everyone to contribute simultaneously.
Define the decision criteria: Clearly outline the criteria that will be used to evaluate the options. This ensures that everyone is on the same page and understands the basis for the decision.
Brainstorm and evaluate options: Use the template to brainstorm potential options and evaluate them against the defined criteria. Encourage team members to provide their input and discuss the pros and cons of each option.
Make the decision: After evaluating the options, use the template to document the final decision and the rationale behind it. This provides a clear record that can be referred to in the future.
Implement and review: Once the decision is made, implement the chosen option.
Monitor progress: After implementing the decision, use the template to track the progress and outcomes. This helps in ensuring that the decision is executed as planned and allows for adjustments if necessary.
Gather feedback: Collect feedback from team members on the decision-making process and the outcome. This can provide valuable insights for future decisions and help refine the templates.
Reflect and improve: Periodically review the decision-making process and the effectiveness of the templates. Identify areas for improvement and update the templates accordingly to better suit your team's needs.
Miro's decision-making templates empower teams to make informed, efficient, and collaborative decisions. By providing a structured framework, these templates help teams navigate complex decisions with clarity and consistency.