UDECIDE User Instructions.
Revised: 12 Jul 1990
Copyright 1990, Steve Estvanik / Cascoly Software

Contents:

1. INTRODUCTION
2. GETTING STARTED
3. RUNNING AN ANALYSIS
4. FILES
5. SAMPLES


1. INTRODUCTION

UDECIDE helps you make decisions such as which software or hardware to
purchase; ratings surveys; which project to pursue; ranking; or selecting
colleges, movies, stocks, or wines. You enter a list of elements by which
you will evaluate the contenders, optionally giving each a weight. Then you
enter the possible options, and assign a value to each element. You can
then sort to obtain an ordered list of the best options. Or you can perform
what-if analyses by changing elements or weights.

UDECIDE has been optimized for use on a color monitor, but will also work on
monochrome screens. It will use a microsoft-compatible mouse if you have
one. It is fully menu-driven. To use the keyborad, you can either use the
arrow keys, or the first letter of a menu word to select the action you
wish. Then press enter. To use the mouse, just move it to the item you
want and press the left button. To back up from a menu, press the right
button, or .

This program is shareware, which is a means of distributing software.
Under the shareware concept, software may be freely copied and passed along
to others, or distributed through bulletin board systems or national
networks.

As a recipient of a shareware program, you may use the software for a short
trial period to determine if it meets your needs. If the software is not
suitable, then you can discard it. If you decide to use it, you should
register it. As of May 1, 1990, all Cascoly games will cost $20 each to
register. If you include the version number when you register, we will send
you any more recent version. Registration also entitles you to online
support via CompuServe. Send email to Cascoly Software, CompuServe number
76703,3046. (We will also answer mail from registered users.)

As an additional benefit, registration entitles you to a free introductory
account on CompuServe. (Details will be sent when you register.)

Cascoly Software is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals
(ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you.
If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member
by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP
Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but
does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to
the ASP Ombudsman at P.O. Box 5786, Bellevue, WA 98006 or send a Compuserve
message via easyplex to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536

2. GETTING STARTED

Figure 1 shows the main menu. FILE options are covered in section 4.
OPTIONS and ELEMENTS are covered section 3.

Each UDECIDE data file (.UDT) is a separate analysis. An analysis consists
of a number of options. The options are the various choices or selections
that you are evaluating. Each option has a short name, a longer
description, a series of values for each of the various elements, and a
total weighted value. Elements are the separate characteristics you use to
evaluate an option. Each element consists of a short name, a longer
description and a weight. The weights let you give different stress to
various elements. Or you could set all the weights to the same value, and
ignore them. Weights can vary from -99 to 99, so some elements could have
negative effects on the overall solution. For most analyses, a simple 0 to
9, or even 0 to 5 should suffice, since many analyses are subjective and use
of a wider range might give a false sense of precision to the analysis.

When you've changed options or elements, the total values will change
automatically. If you want to reorder the list of options, then choose
SORT. The PRINT option sends a complete description of the current analysis
and its results to your printer.

3. RUNNING AN ANALYSIS

You start an analysis by defining elements. For each element, you fill in
an entry window (Figure 3), defining a name, description and weight. If all
elements are the same, just give a weight of 1 to each element. Later you
visualize the effects of particular elements by increasing the weights, or
remove them temporarily from consideration by setting the weight to 0. You
can move among the varoius fields. Each field uses the standard wordstar-
style editing commands for backspace, delete, and cursor movement.

Once you have one or more elements defined, you can start adding options.
(Figure 2). These are the various possible solutions to the problem or
analysis. When you add an option, you can set values for each of the
elements. As you leave the options window, any changed values are
recalculated, and the total value for the option is shown.

4. FILES

The Files selection from the main menu lets you open new files, save changed
ones, and also has several informational selections.

'Open' -- Shows, then reads from a list of currently available analyses.

'New' -- Prompts you for a name for a new analysis.

'Save' -- Saves current analysis to disk

'WriteAs' -- Saves current analysis under a different file name

'About' -- A brief summary of this program.

'Register' -- Details on how to register this shareware program. If, after
an evaluation period, you decide you will continue to use the program, you
should register it.

5. SAMPLES
Several example analyses are included to illustrate the range of problems
that can be solved using UDECIDE.

DATABASE -- shows how UDECIDE can assist in selecting a database program.

STOCK -- helps select a stock using fundamental analysis. This example
shows how to use negative weights. For example, PE (price earnings ratio),
should be low, so higher PE's are valued less.



_______________________________________________________________________________
Figure 1: File menu


File Option Element Sort Print Quit

Open
New
Save
WriteAs
About
Register

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________
Figure 2: Options menu & entry window


File Option Element Sort Print Quit

Add
Edit
Delete Use Learning Power Flexibile

APOP 26 1 1 1 1
Dilemma 26 1 1 1 1
Psychic 26 1 1 1 1


Option
Description
0 0 0 0
Flexibility in design


_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________
Figure 3: Elements menu & entry window

File Option Element Sort Print Quit

Add
Edit
Delete g Power Flexibile

APOP 26 1 1 1 1
Dilemma 26 1 1 1 1
Psychic 26 1 1 1 1


Element
Description
Weight 0