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Keep score with our Pugh matrix template

Whether you’re brainstorming a potential solution at the beginning or stuck in the middle of your project, the Pugh analysis can help you rank your options and find the ace up your sleeve.

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Pugh matrix template

Play your cards right by bringing the entire group together on a collaborative analytic template.

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Success is in the cards

When you evaluate your choices with this systematic method, you can bet on a solution that works.

Keep an objective outlook: Play it by the numbers and remove emotional bias when making decisions.

Prioritize with efficiency: Save time and effort when you easily select the best strategy out of many.

Don’t stop innovating: Combine the most promising aspects of various solutions to create a new and improved design.

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three rows of three squares with various negative signs, plus signs, and zeros

green thumbs up emoji and a yellow thumbs down emoji with plus and negative symbols from a Pugh matrix

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Ace the planning process when the entire team contributes. With shared workspaces, open canvas designs, and Community-built widgets, everyone will know when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em. Share insights and good times through cursor chats, Emoji, and more.

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Start with the numbers, fill in the rest of the story

Rank your top strategies with our Pugh matrix. Discover new connections and understand the larger context with templates from our Community.

Pyramid

Prioritize steps in a process and how one leads to the next.

Compare and contrast chart

See the best parts of each solution when you put them side by side.

Other templates from the community

Simplify your decision-making process with key strategic insights.

FAQs

A Pugh matrix evaluates various solutions based on a set of criteria you create. By assigning a numerical score to each solution, this quantitative analysis makes it easy to compare strategies and select the best one.

To create a Pugh matrix, start with FigJam’s free evaluation matrix template and create a column for each solution. The solution you’re currently working with will serve as the control group—the baseline by which you’ll rate the other solutions.

A Pugh Matrix example also contains rows, each representing a single criterion for evaluating your solution. Examples of criteria include:

- Long term prospects

- Effectiveness of the solution

- Cost of implementation

Weigh the criteria by importance and then rate your alternative solutions against your current solution for each. For example, if your alternative solution has a lower cost of implementation, put a “+1” in that category. If your alternative solution has worse long-term prospects, jot down a “-1.” Multiply the number for each criterion by its weight and tally all the criteria together to find the total score for each alternative solution.

One of the main strengths of the Pugh method is its simplicity. Because it’s quantitative and systematic—but not mathematically complex—it can be used by technical and non-technical teams alike.

It’s clarifying, too. Based on straightforward criteria, the Pugh decision matrix provides an objective view of alternative solutions. It also helps to generate discussion among the team, prompting the entire group to collaborate to find the most efficient pathways.