Frequently asked questions related to this app.
What is Decision Maker?
Decision Maker is a free decision-making app for iPhone and Android that helps you think through a choice instead of guessing at it. It bundles five classic decision frameworks — pros and cons, a weighted decision matrix, SWOT analysis, the 10-10-10 rule, and decision trees — into one app. The goal is to make your reasoning visible so you can look at it, change it, and commit to a choice without second-guessing later.
Which decision-making frameworks does Decision Maker include?
It includes five: a weighted pros and cons list, a decision matrix for scoring several options against your own criteria, SWOT analysis, the 10-10-10 rule, and a decision tree. Each framework suits a different shape of problem, and you can use as many as you like on the same question. Nothing is locked behind a specific framework — all five are available to free users.
What is a pros and cons list, and why weight it?
A pros and cons list sets the reasons for a choice beside the reasons against it. A plain list treats every point as equal, which is misleading — one serious drawback can outweigh five minor benefits. Decision Maker lets you weight each point by how much it actually matters and then shows a net score, so the result reflects importance rather than just the number of bullet points.
What is a decision matrix and when should I use one?
A decision matrix compares several options against the criteria you care about, scoring each option on each criterion and weighting the criteria by importance. Use it when you have more than two realistic options — choosing a laptop, a flat, a job offer, a holiday — where a simple yes/no list cannot express the trade-offs. Decision Maker totals the weighted scores for you and tells you which option is currently leading.
Is there a free app for SWOT analysis?
Yes — Decision Maker includes SWOT analysis for free on iOS and Android. You sort your points into four areas: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and the app keeps each group separate so the picture stays readable as it grows. Your SWOT boards are saved and can be reopened and edited at any time.
What is SWOT analysis actually for?
SWOT splits a situation into strengths and weaknesses (things true of you or the option right now) and opportunities and threats (things coming from outside). The split matters because the two halves call for different responses — you can build on a strength, but you can only prepare for a threat. It suits strategic or open-ended questions more than straight either/or choices.
What is the 10-10-10 rule?
The 10-10-10 rule, popularised by Suzy Welch, asks how you will feel about a decision in 10 minutes, in 10 months, and in 10 years. It is a deliberate check on short-term emotion: the option that feels best in 10 minutes is often not the one you would endorse in 10 years. Decision Maker gives you a space to write a reflection for each of the three time horizons and shows all three side by side.
Is there a free 10-10-10 tool or worksheet?
Decision Maker includes 10-10-10 as one of its five built-in frameworks, free on both iOS and Android. Rather than a printable worksheet, you get a saved, editable entry for each time horizon that you can come back to as the situation unfolds. It is especially useful for impulse purchases, career moves, and anything you suspect you want for the wrong reasons.
What is a decision tree?
A decision tree maps each option you could take and then what each one leads to, so that a choice is judged by its consequences rather than its appeal in the moment. In Decision Maker, each branch is an option, and under each branch you add reasons for and against it, weighted by how much they matter. The app works out which branch is currently ahead, so you can see where your reasoning is pointing.
Which framework should I use for my decision?
Use pros and cons for a straight yes/no call, and a decision matrix when you are comparing three or more options on several criteria. Use SWOT for strategic or open-ended situations, 10-10-10 when you suspect short-term emotion is driving you, and a decision tree when what matters is where each choice leads. If you are unsure, run the same question through two frameworks — disagreement between them usually shows you what you have not thought about yet.
Is Decision Maker free?
Yes. All five frameworks are fully usable for free, and free users can keep up to 10 saved decisions at a time, with ads shown in the app. You can earn an extra permanent decision slot by watching a rewarded ad, or remove the limit entirely with a one-time upgrade.
Is there a subscription?
No — the paid upgrade is a single one-time purchase, not a recurring subscription. It removes the saved-decision limit and removes all ads, and it stays with your store account permanently. If you reinstall the app or move to a new device on the same account, you can restore the purchase.
Does Decision Maker work offline?
Yes. Your decisions are stored on your device, so you can create, edit and review them with no internet connection at all. Nothing needs to sync before you can start working.
Do I need an account to use Decision Maker?
No. There is no sign-up, no login, and no email address required — you can open the app and start a decision immediately. Because there is no account, your decisions are not tied to a profile on a server.
Where is my data stored, and is it private?
Your decisions are stored in a local database on your own device, not uploaded to a Decision Maker server. Nobody else can read your decisions from the app, and there is no shared or cloud copy by default. If you want a copy somewhere else, you create one yourself with the backup feature.
Can I back up my decisions or move them to a new phone?
Yes. Decision Maker can export your whole decision library to a single file that you can save or send wherever you keep backups, and it can import that file again later. This is also how you move your decisions to a new phone, since there is no automatic cloud sync.
Can I keep my decisions private from someone using my phone?
Yes. You can turn on an app lock that requires Face ID, Touch ID or your fingerprint before your decisions can be opened. It is worth enabling if you use the app for personal matters — money, relationships, health or work.
Can I look back at decisions I have already made?
Yes. Every decision is saved and can be reopened and edited, and you can search your decisions, filter them by framework, and mark important ones as favourites so they stay at the top. Revisiting an old decision is often the most useful part: you can see what you actually believed at the time, rather than how you now remember it.
Is Decision Maker for personal or work decisions?
Both. The frameworks are general-purpose — a weighted matrix works as well for choosing a supplier as for picking a phone, and SWOT is used for business strategy and personal career planning alike. Nothing in the app assumes a particular domain, so you decide what each framework is weighing.
What languages does Decision Maker support?
Decision Maker is available in 14 languages: English, Vietnamese, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal), Italian, Russian, Turkish and Hindi. It follows your device language by default and can be switched at any time. You can also choose a light, dark, or system-matching appearance.
Does Decision Maker decide for me, or use AI?
No — it does not use AI and it does not make the choice for you. It calculates what your own weights and ratings imply, and shows which option that reasoning favours, but you supply every input and you make the call. The point is to make your thinking explicit and reviewable, not to outsource it.
