Guide 3 of 5

When to Augment
Decisions With
Artificial Intelligence
Guides for Effective Business Decision Making

© 2024 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. CM_GTS_2796078
 Guides for Effective Business Decision Making — When to Augment Decisions With Artificial Intelligence

By 2025,
90% of current analytics content consumers
will become content creators enabled by AI.
Source: Gartner

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 Guides for Effective Business Decision Making — When to Augment Decisions With Artificial Intelligence

In the Gartner 2021 Reengineering the Decision Survey of executives, 47% of

respondents said they expected decisions to become increasingly complex The decisions I make are more complex (stakeholders,
over the ensuing 18 months. This is driving interest in the application of data and choices) than 2 years ago
analytics (D&A) to improve the quality of those decisions. However, organizations
5%
are also interested in improving the speed and accuracy of decisions, and that
Disagree
often requires automation.
Decisions that use data can be automated in a variety of ways but fall
30%
somewhere between being mostly human-based and entirely automated.
Neutral 65%
Organizations that embrace some degree of decision automation are likely to Agree
achieve competitive advantage through more rapid decision making (algorithmic
trading outpacing human-based trading in response to market volatility), more
sophisticated decisions (inventory levels based on a wide variety of market
signals) and more granular decision making (microsegmentation of customer
segments).
There is a higher expectation for me to be able to explain
The key for D&A and business leaders is to understand where to expand decision or justify my decisions
automation for better outcomes.
5%
Disagree

Gareth Herschel
VP Analyst, CDO Leadership
42% 53%
Neutral Agree

Source: Gartner

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 Guides for Effective Business Decision Making — When to Augment Decisions With Artificial Intelligence

How to Use This Guide

Prepare
Understand the role of
1 Establish
Know how, in practice, to blend
2 Engage
Use a decision intelligence
3 Tips for Delivery
Act intentionally to create an
4
automation in decision making. human and artificial intelligence framework to assess when to organizational competency in
(AI) in hybrid decision making. augment/automate decision decision intelligence.
making.

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Prepare
Guides for Effective Business Decision Making — When to Augment Decisions With Artificial Intelligence 1
Understand the Role of Automation in Decision Making
Human Machine

Decision Support Decision Augmentation Decision Automation

(Human-Based Decisions) (Hybrid Decisions) (Machine-Based Decisions)
Example: Medical diagnosis Example: Financial investment Example: Next best action for digital order

Risks must be managed by, for example,

There are multiple forms of augmentation. guardrails or a human-in-the-loop for
Machine suggests; human decides. Human exceptional cases.
suggests; machine decides. Human and
Level of Involvement

Decision is made by a human, based on machine decide together. Each has a

principles and ethics, experience and bias, different dynamic.
logic and reasoning, emotion, skills and style
(solo, delegated, collaborative).
Autonomous decision making by machines,
using predictions, forecasts, simulations, rules,
Machines use AI to generate recommendations optimization or other AI.
and may provide diagnostic analytics for human
Machines provide visualizations, exploration, validation and exploration.
alerts and other support for human decision
makers.

Augment decisions by presenting

recommendations to human decision makers. Machines/devices make decisions
Data and analytics support human decision Hybrid decisions are the realm of robotic independently, but humans review automated
Role of D&A makers with information, data or visualizations. process automation systems, where the decisions after they have been made to
decision model includes both attended and maintain control of complex systems.
unattended automation tasks.

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Establish
Guides for Effective Business Decision Making — When to Augment Decisions With Artificial Intelligence 2
3 Key Steps to Hybrid Decision Making in Practice

In practice, the role of automation in decision

making is nuanced, with a series of categories The 7 Levels of Hybrid Decision Making
defining a transition from decision support to Decision Support Decision Augmentation Decision Automation
augmentation to automation. Use the framework
to the right to clarify where humans can and Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
should be involved in decision making and the Human Advisory Recommendation Approval Veto Audit Autonomous
types of investment required.
Data or Analysis Determined by need and preference of human decision maker
Used
Pre-identified in the context of the decision
3 Keys to Implementation
Human (potentially using data and analytics)
 ove from one level to the next on the
M
Who Proposes
basis of organizational need, not technical Human and decision system both create
the Decision
ability. Decision system

 lend different levels, even within one

B
Role of Human in Approval of decision is an explicit action
decision, to balance risk and opportunity.
Decision Approval
Rejection of decision is an explicit action
 o not view Level 7 as an automatic best
D
practice or objective; the optimal level will Review of decision process and choice
vary for different decisions and depend on
Decision Oversight Routine review of previous decisions
your culture.
Exception-based review of previous decisions

Source: Gartner

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Engage
Guides for Effective Business Decision Making — When to Augment Decisions With Artificial Intelligence 3
Leverage a Decision Intelligence Framework

The Gartner Decision Intelligence framework helps you model decisions while ensuring you detail the (re)design
and application of components needed to support, augment or automate each phase in the decision flow.

Decision Intelligence

Gartner Decision Intelligence Loop

Gartner Decision Intelligence Components
(Every decision goes through the same 5 phases)

an/Machine(s
Hum )
Analytics: Supports, augments Learn
H
 uman: Actor with bias and goals and automates decisions
making and supporting decisions
Capture Interpret
(Observe) (Investigate)
Data: Informs decisions

AI: Actor with goals and bias Outcome

making and supporting decisions Applications: Sequences Act Model
(Execute) (Design)
decision steps

Resolve
(Contextualize)
Data Fabric
Shared Information and Fe
ed ns
bac ti o
Data Architecture k and Excep
De
cisio io n
n C o m p o sit
Source: Gartner

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Tips for Delivery
4
Guides for Effective Business Decision Making — When to Augment Decisions With Artificial Intelligence

Act to Build Decision Intelligence Capabilities

The ability to identify, prioritize and then to model and (re)engineer decisions
for improvement (i.e., decision intelligence) will be a critical competency for a
disruption-ready and resilient organization.
Recommended actions:

Start with decision intelligence where business-critical decision making Improve decision making by first explicitly understanding and
must be improved — requiring more data-driven support or AI-powered modeling how decisions are currently made and how they could be
augmentation — or where decisions can be scaled and accelerated reengineered, and then by incorporating human and/or AI decision-
through automation. (Alternatively, start where there is the greatest making capabilities and a feedback loop for measuring results.
dissatisfaction with current decision making as this could drive some
quick wins.)

Build organizational competency in decision intelligence with a reusable, Consider creating a role for decision engineers by hiring or
composable decision framework. This enables data-driven organizations upskilling experts who can work with decision makers to identify
to get the most out of their data. It turns the data into insights that target critical decisions, which can be improved through engineering
improvements in business performance and achievement of mission- decision intelligence.
critical priorities.

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 Guides for Effective Business Decision Making — When to Augment Decisions With Artificial Intelligence

Actionable, objective insight

Explore these additional complimentary resources and tools This guide is part of the Effective Decision
Making Series. You can access other guides
to make better business decisions.
in this series to continue improving how your
business makes decisions and learn:
Roadmap Resource Hub
Enhance Your Roadmap for Data and Chief Data Officer to Build Data & Analytics • Which decisions to reengineer and why
Analytics Governance Leadership Traits • How to prioritize analytics and data
Set the right governance foundation. Create competitive advantage through D&A.
• What role data fabric will play in your data
Webinar Roadmap
management
Data & Analytics Series: Modernize Your Data The IT Roadmap for Data and Analytics • Incorporating the right skills and capabilities
Strategy to Achieve Digital Success Follow D&A best practices to create a strategy. in your D&A organization
Connect the strategy to your operating model.

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