Rank your options with pairwise comparison
A simple way to compare and prioritize options.
Pairwise comparison helps you rank several options by comparing them two at a time. It breaks the ranking process into smaller, simpler steps. For decisions, it helps you rank options by what matters most, like value, impact, or feasibility. For personal choices, it helps you prioritize based on preference or the benefits each option offers. You might use it to decide which goals to focus on, which projects to take, which activities to prioritize, or which personal values matter most to you.
Pairwise comparison starts with a list of options and a criterion for judging them, like value, preference, or impact. You then compare the options two at a time, picking the one you favor and giving a point to that option. Once all the comparisons are done, the points are added up to show which options come out on top and matter most according to your criterion.
Here’s an example of how to determine core values from a short list of personal values. The list includes: creativity, fitness, responsibility, financial security, family time, authenticity, and respect. The criterion is how much each value matters.
The pairwise comparison consists of the following steps:
👉 Start with the first value on the list. Compare it to the second one and decide which one matters more. Give one point to that value. You can’t split the point. Then compare the first value to the third, fourth, and so on, giving a point each time to the value that feels more important.
👉 Now move to the second value on the list and repeat the process: compare it to the third, fourth, and so on, always giving one point to the value that matters more.
👉 Continue until every value from the list has been compared to all the ones that come after it.
👉 Add up how many points each value received.
The values with the highest scores, usually the top three, are the core values.
Here’s an example outcome:
