Decision-making is defined as a choice done by one or several actors, when exploring several alternatives. Aristotle [ARI 72] defines a decision as thinking resulting from an individual or collaborative deliberation. In psychology, decision-making is considered as thinking in which an actor facing a problem or achieving a goal uses expectations related to future events, similar real-life decision consequences, preferences, believes, etc. [RET 01]. In sociology, decision-making is modeled as games or action theories.
But the main theory that marks the current organization’s management is the limited rationality defined by Simon [SIM 77]. Simon proposes to study decision-making as a rational process that can be modeled as a cognitive process with different satisfaction criteria. Related to this theory, several activities, which are at the beginning considered as chaotic and appealing to creativity, such as design, are modeled in a process combining a workflow with environments constraints and actors goals.
Table 3.1. Decision-level characteristics
| Characteristics | Strategic | Tactical | Operational |
| Field of decision | Relationship with the environment | Resource management | Resource use in the process of transformation |
| Timescale | Long term | Medium term | Short term |
| Effect of decision | Durable | Short | Very short |
| Reversibility of the decision | Null | Low | Height |
| Decision procedure | Non-programmable | Semi-programmable ... |
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