Purpose: To build a decision making application based on the Ottawa Personal Decision Guide (OPDG) for users of the Facebook social networking platform. Background:The OPDG is a generic decision making tool used for social and health decisions. It helps people assess, address and communicate their decisional needs. Facebook is an extremely popular online social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and coworkers. The majority of Facebook users are under the age of 24. In an effort to develop the decision making skills of young people we decide to create a decision making application for Facebook users based on the OPDG.
Method: iShould helps users structure a decision in just a few minutes. Users type in their decision in the form of a question (I should...or not?) and list the pros and cons. Then they rate the overall value of the pros and cons (using 1 to 5 stars) and answer four questions designed to identify their unresolved decisional needs (deficits in knowledge, values clarity and support). The application provides some feedback based on the user’s responses to these questions and gives them the opportunity to share their decision with up to 20 of their Facebook friends. Friends can engage in a discussion about the decision by contributing comments to the user’s decision page thereby facilitating the incorporation of views and preferences of others. We are collecting data on user demographics and decisions.
Result: The application was successfully launched on
Conclusion: We will demonstrate iShould, describe our experience building the application and share early feedback from its users.
Candidate for the Lee B. Lusted Student Prize Competition