Selecting a turn-key Geographic Information System using decision analysis

The organization attempting to purchase a turn-key Geographic Information System faces a difficult task. Many potential systems exist and none is clearly superior in all aspects. The organization must clearly define its needs and the trade off among these needs. A formal procedure exists, decision analysis, for making a selection within this multi-attribute problem. This procedure was used by Woodward-Clyde Consultants and is described here. As a side benefit, decision analysis is useful for identifying weak points in the selected system which might be addressed during contract negotiations.