PROACT Model, Consequences and Trade-offs

The “C” in PrOACT stands for understanding the Consequences. A consequence table can be used in making my decision, but there are three main concerns to be aware of when giving a value to each alternative for each objective. First, the values need to be an appropriate level of preciseness. Most experts agree that the human mind can only distinguish between 7-9 levels of variation, so a scale of 1-9 is most commonly used. These numbers are subjective and relate to my preferences and values. They may (and probably would be) different for each individual that rates them.

I learned to use Excel to analyze and compare the various alternatives, but it it hard to explain in words. Suffice it to say that my analysis concluded an internship with Eagle Mountain would be the best alternative.

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In most complex decisions, like in this analysis, there is no one perfect answer and tradeoffs are considered when evaluating the highest scoring alternatives..

The internship in Eagle Mountain wins most of the time, but the internship in Salem sometimes wins the majority of the trials. So it is important to look at the tradeoffs I would be willing to make.

If I decided to trade some emphasis (say, 3 percentage points) on experience for more emphasis on future job prospects, the weighted totals would change significantly in Salem’s favor and it would be the clear winner over Eagle Mountain almost every trial.

If, on the other hand, I placed more emphasis on location (increasing its weight 3-4 percent) and less emphasis on either experience or job prospect, then the weighted totals would go up in Eagle Mountain’s case but down in Salem’s, since the Eagle Mountain internship is  rated higher in location then Salem’s internship.

One thing that stands out is that the Eagle Mountain internship and the Salem internship are both rated at a 5 under the income objective, which is almost always the highest weighted objective. This gives me confidence in the results of my analysis, being that these two alternatives finished so close to each other.

PROACT Model, Objectives & Alternatives

The “O” in PrOACT stands for formulating Objectives. To find my objectives Isimply asked myself what it was that I really want to accomplish, what did I need to do, and what were my hopes and my goals. After thinking through these questions I came to the following conclusions:

1) Income -This was a big one. My savings account and my student loans are going to be enough to get me through this year, but my financial situation for next year is very dependent on how much money I can save this summer.

2) Experience -One of my main goals was to have a positive experience. I wanted to feel like I was making a contribution and not just filing paperwork or taking photos of city buildings for my internship. I also wanted it to be somewhat prestigious, or at least not something I would be embarrassed to talk about with future employers. Lastly, I wanted my experience to somehow relate to my future goals.

3) Location -I really want to spend the summer someplace nice, with a good “quality of life. I also don’t want to spend all my money on moving trucks, though I would like to be close to family and friends.

4) Job Prospect -Let’s face it, the most important aspect of doing an internship is the hope that it will somehow lead to a future job offering, so the opportunity for good job prospects completed my list.

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The “A” in PrOACT stands for developing Alternatives. The alternatives represent the different courses of action to choose from. In Smart Choices, the authors make mention that your decision will only be as good as your best alternative. That said, it is important to consider a wide range of possible pathways before narrowing the list of alternatives down.

I looked into multiple internships, spoke with lots of people about internships they were familiar with, and discussed lots of possibilities with my wife. I considered internships in Utah, Oregon, California, Florida, D.C., and Mexico before finally settling on what I felt were the most practical and realistic alternatives.

1) GAO -Government Accountability Office, located in Washington D.C. This is a federal government agency created by the legislature to perform audits.

2) City of Eagle Mountain, UT -small city that has experienced a large population growth but struggles to attract local businesses to the area

3) City of Orem, UT -Large city that is very compartmentalized. Good reputation as a city with a positive attitude toward growth and development

4) City of Salem, OR -Capital of Oregon and very big. This is where I was raised and I have lots of family and friends there.

5) City of Aumsville, OR -Smaller city located about 15 miles from Salem. Historically a very rural, ag-based community but it recently doubled in size thanks to the recent housing boom and low property taxes.

The PROACT Model

Thinking over the past semester (hard to believe there are only a few weeks left) I have decided to write a few posts to summarize a few of the key concepts I’ve learned.

The first concept or tool is used to assist in complex decision making. It is taken from the book Smart Choices: A  Practical Guide to Making Better Life Decisions, by John Hammond, Ralph Keeney, and Howard Raiffa. The authors developed a model they call the PrOACT Model, which is an acronym for defining the Problem, specifying the Objectives, creating Alternatives, understanding the Consequences, and grappling with Trade offs. I used the PrOACT Model to help me reach a decision as to what internship I should apply for this summer.

The “Pr” in PrOACT stands for Problem, or more specifically, defining the problem. How the problem is approached will greatly influence the outcome of the decision, so I wanted to make sure that I gave a lot of meaningful thought to my problem.

When I first began thinking of my problem, I figured it would simply be “should I apply for an internship for this summer?” This question was triggered at new student orientation when all the second-year students reported on the internships they had completed over the summer. So the issue really became “what do you want to do this summer?”

In trying to define my problem, I asked myself several questions, such as, “Do I even want to do an internship? What could I do with your summer instead? Would not doing an internship compromise my future goals?”

In answering these questions I came to the realization that, indeed, I did want to complete an internship over the summer, but I still had no idea what my options were or what my search criteria should be. But after a few days of thinking it over, I knew that my problem definition was:

Which internship should I apply for?

I’ll continue with formulating Objectives in my next post.