Choose between classifying, scoring, ranking, and recommending, and know what each can and cannot answer.
2b · pick the decision shape
Choose a score, rank, or category
Start with the example, then try it yourself. The last case is optional practice.
Meet Maya.
Maya helps turn an unclear request into a decision: what needs answering, which evidence matters, and who can act on the result.
Maya · Decision designer
The case
One number, four questions
A score describes one record. A ranking compares a population. Separate measures when their purposes differ.
Asked for
A health number on every open deal
Built
One 0-100 score blending recency, stage age, criteria, and size
Used to answer
Is it moving? Is it qualified? Worth my time? In forecast?
High score can mean
Large deal with nothing happening
Low score can mean
Small deal closing on Friday
Your task
Adjust the activity and fit sliders. Add a deal, then compare Northwind’s score and rank.
Need a little guidance?
You’re done when: You can see which value changes when a new deal joins the comparison.
Decision shape determines what users think the result means.
Need a reminder? Reopen the worked example
Watch one example first
Deal A scores 70 and Deal B scores 60 under a fixed formula. Adding Deal C at 90 leaves A’s score at 70 but moves A from first to second in the ranking.
Why this follows from the evidence
A score describes a record using its inputs. A rank describes its position among other records. Classification chooses a category; recommendation proposes an action. One number need not answer all four questions.
GTM Lab
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Decision workbench
Score versus rank
Your task: Adjust two labeled inputs, then add a deal. Notice which number changes for the existing opportunity and which output depends on the set.
Northwind’s complete score · point weights
Activity × 5
8 × 5 = 40 points
Fit × 4
6 × 4 = 24 points
Verified need × 3 (fixed)
4 × 3 = 12 points
40 + 24 + 12 = 76 raw points → score 76. Scores are rounded and limited to 0–100. Adding another deal changes the comparison set, not these inputs.
Rank order before and after changing the setCompare the original state with the proposed change. This preview does not change live records.
Rank order before and after changing the set
Item
Before
Current set
Why
Northwind renewal
Rank 1 · score 76
Rank 1 · score 76
Same inputs and score in both sets. Rank is its position among the other deals.
Fabrikam new business
Rank 2 · score 69
Rank 2 · score 69
Same inputs and score in both sets. Rank is its position among the other deals.
Contoso expansion
Rank 3 · score 64
Rank 3 · score 64
Same inputs and score in both sets. Rank is its position among the other deals.
Northwind renewal
BeforeRank 1 · score 76
Current setRank 1 · score 76
WhySame inputs and score in both sets. Rank is its position among the other deals.
Fabrikam new business
BeforeRank 2 · score 69
Current setRank 2 · score 69
WhySame inputs and score in both sets. Rank is its position among the other deals.
Contoso expansion
BeforeRank 3 · score 64
Current setRank 3 · score 64
WhySame inputs and score in both sets. Rank is its position among the other deals.
Both columns use the current slider inputs. Only adding or removing the new deal differs between them. Equal scores are ordered by name for this demonstration.
This formula uses point units to show how a set-relative rank differs from a per-record score. It is not an operating sales score.
Practice draft restores when you return.
Case evidence
One number, four questions
Asked for
A health number on every open deal
Built
One 0-100 score blending recency, stage age, criteria, and size
Used to answer
Is it moving? Is it qualified? Worth my time? In forecast?
High score can mean
Large deal with nothing happening
Low score can mean
Small deal closing on Friday
One number is being used to answer four different questions. Split it, then pick the right shape for each.
Review or edit the saved decision-design sections
The workbench above is the main practice. These optional sections let you draft the contract directly; each section gives feedback before the chapter check.
Work the case · 0 of 3 sections drafted
Choose the shape for each question
Compare these alternatives one section at a time. Check a choice to see its consequence; the draft summary below keeps the proposed changes together.
Step 1 of 3
A high score can mean a large deal with nothing happening, and a low one can mean a small deal closing Friday. What is actually wrong here?
This is a proposed draft until the chapter check runs. Selecting a choice alone does not complete the chapter.
