In consulting, one common element that transcends industries, clients, and projects is the need to evaluate options. Whether you’re comparing products, solutions, markets, or customer segments, an assessment of alternatives is practically a guarantee in every consulting engagement. In this guide, we’ll take a look at five slides consultants have used to assess options. Hopefully, these can serve as inspiration for your own slides.
High/Medium/Low ratings
This slide provides a straightforward table to assess options with a qualitative rating system (High/Medium/Low). What’s great is you can easily tailor the rating to any criteria. The slide’s designed for:
- Quick evaluation: Each option is accompanied by a description and ratings rationale.
- Simplicity: At a glance, clients can see how each option compares based on the criteria.
When to Use: Ideal for scenarios where the decision-making process involves subjective judgment but needs structure (e.g., evaluating new product ideas or prioritizing markets).
Traffic light ratings
This slide is slightly more visual because of its adding traffic light indicators (green, yellow, red), which area basically equivalent to a high, medium, low evaluation. It is designed for:
- Categorization: Options are grouped into categories, making it easier to evaluate multiple dimensions of a cluster.
- Visual Clarity: The traffic light ratings help stakeholders to quickly identify strengths, risks, and areas needing improvement.
When to Use: Best suited for projects with several interconnected categories, such as strategy implementation plans or operational improvement options.
Comparison table
This slide uses a table approach, comparing options against predefined dimensions or criteria on a binary basis. This helps turn a qualitative analysis into a quantitative one (i.e., the Havery balls show the sum of an option’s ticks). The slide was designed for:
- Side-by-side analysis: Options are visually aligned, making it easy to spot which ones meet key dimensions.
- Summarized insights: The Harvey balls provide a high-level overview of alignment to critical success criteria.
When to Use: Perfect for evaluations that need to highlight gaps and strengths across multiple dimensions (e.g., comparing vendors, partners, geographic markets).
Considerations
This slide goes deeper by analyzing each option in detail across multiple considerations such as:
- Risks and Opportunities: A structured way to balance positive and negative aspects of each option.
- Variable Assessments: Harvey balls and brief rationales provide a quantitative analysis.
When to Use: Use this slide when decisions require a detailed understanding of risks, opportunities, and overall impact (e.g., assessing long-term strategic investments, new business models).
Matrix View
This slide uses a two-dimension analysis on a matrix. It helps provide a clear categorization of options in four quadrants of varying preferences. Key elements include:
- Assessment Matrix: Plots options based on two key criteria (e.g., feasibility vs. impact).
- Categorization: Helps quickly discern insights with regards to how option categories are evaluated.
When to Use: Ideal for facilitating strategic discussions where the placement of options in a matrix adds a layer of insight (e.g., prioritizing initiatives for resource allocation, portfolio planning).
Slide-building cheat code: The Consulting Toolkit
The slides in this guide are part of the Consulting Toolkit, a comprehensive deck of modern and professional consulting templates. This toolkit includes slides for every step of a consulting project, from framing hypotheses and conducting analyses to presenting strategic recommendations.
