Pulse check¶

The mood assessment is one of the three methods. It shows where the group stands, and is not binding on anyone.

A decision taken as a way of gauging pulse check does not alter the status of the issue: it is conducted in the same way as any other, using the same method and the same rules, but its outcome is regarded as information rather than a resolution.

What is it for?¶

Before anyone puts work into a proposal that nobody is going to support anyway. Or to get a sense of people’s preferences first and then make a binding decision on the most promising proposals – see Combining decision-making methods.

A common approach: a resistance check to gauge pulse check, followed by a binding consent on the proposal that met with the least resistance.

When it is not available¶

Only in the case of joint decisions. If one person is making the decision on behalf of the others anyway, a gauge of opinion does not answer the question asked.

And since every decision corresponds to exactly one procedure, the ‘mood’ and experiment] are mutually exclusive – they are two values of the same choice.