78 Contextual Factors
Our decision intelligence system analyzes these 78 contextual factors to provide comprehensive insights for your strategic decisions. Each factor is carefully weighted and integrated into our hybrid Bayesian-I Ching analysis framework.
A. Decision Framing (8)
Core parameters that define the decision context and constraints
Objective Clarity
Ordinal (1–5)
How clear and measurable the goal is.
Decision Type
Categorical
Enter/exit/expand/M&A/hiring/pricing/procurement/ads/positioning/pilot, etc.
Time Horizon
Categorical
Short/medium/long, or months.
Reversibility
Ordinal (1–5)
Cost/difficulty to roll back.
Success Metric Type
Categorical
Revenue/profit/retention/NPS/compliance/risk reduction, etc.
Hard Constraints Count
Integer
Number of hard limits (budget, headcount, legal, tech).
Alternatives Count
Integer
Number of explicit/implicit options.
Risk Tolerance
Ordinal (1–5)
Conservative ↔ aggressive posture.
B. External & Market (14)
Market dynamics, competitive landscape, and external environmental factors
Industry
Categorical
Stated sector/vertical.
Market Size & Growth
Ordinal (1–5)
Growth/"blue ocean" signals.
Competitive Intensity
Ordinal (1–5)
Monopoly/oligopoly/fragmented; "red ocean" cues.
Demand Trend
Ordinal (1–5)
Rising/flat/declining demand.
Seasonality/Cyclicality
Binary
Holiday/season/fiscal‑cycle sensitivity.
Macro Sensitivity
Ordinal (1–5)
Exposure to rates/FX/inflation/cycle.
Regulatory Clarity
Ordinal (1–5)
Pending/gray/strict/supportive signals.
Geopolitical Risk
Ordinal (1–5)
Country/region uncertainty.
Tech Disruption Pace
Ordinal (1–5)
Speed of tech shifts.
Supplier Bargaining Power
Ordinal (1–5)
Upstream concentration/lock‑in.
Buyer Bargaining Power
Ordinal (1–5)
Enterprise concentration/tendering power.
Network Effects Strength
Ordinal (1–5)
Two‑sided/social/data flywheel.
Channel Accessibility
Ordinal (1–5)
Access barriers/quotas of key channels.
Local Market Signal Strength
Ordinal (1–5)
Real‑time regional cues mentioned.
C. Product & Value Proposition (8)
Product maturity, differentiation, pricing power and other value-related factors
Product Maturity/TRL
Ordinal (1–5)
Prototype/pilot/production/at scale.
Differentiation
Ordinal (1–5)
Clarity of unique value.
Pricing Power
Ordinal (1–5)
Ability to premium/price leadership.
Unit Economics
Ordinal (1–5)
Positive/threshold/negative signals.
Switching Costs
Ordinal (1–5)
Compatibility/migration/lock‑in.
IP & Compliance Readiness
Ordinal (1–5)
Patents/certs/audits readiness.
Reliability & Quality Signal
Ordinal (1–5)
Warranty/defects/SLA/downtime cues.
Roadmap Certainty
Ordinal (1–5)
Milestones and delivery risk.
D. Customer & Segmentation (8)
Customer characteristics, segmentation clarity and behavioral factors
Target Segment Clarity
Ordinal (1–5)
ICP precision.
Pain Severity
Ordinal (1–5)
Must‑have vs nice‑to‑have.
Willingness to Pay
Ordinal (1–5)
Budget/price anchors present.
Adoption Stage
Categorical
Innovators/early/majority/late.
Churn Propensity
Ordinal (1–5)
Refund/alternatives/dissatisfaction hints.
Retention Drivers Clarity
Ordinal (1–5)
Repeatable value levers.
NPS/Sentiment Hint
Ordinal (1–5)
Referrals/repeat/quotes.
Contract/ARPU Structure
Categorical
One‑off/subscription/usage/tiers.
E. Growth & Channels (8)
Growth strategies, sales channels and distribution factors
Channel Readiness
Ordinal (1–5)
Direct/partner/e‑commerce maturity.
Sales Cycle Length
Categorical
Weeks/months/quarters or ranges.
CAC Visibility
Ordinal (1–5)
Known CAC/lead cost history.
Conversion Baseline
Ordinal (1–5)
Known stage conversion or heuristics.
Viral Coefficient Hint
Ordinal (1–5)
Invites/shares/UGC cues.
Partner Alignment
Ordinal (1–5)
Incentive fit/exclusivity.
Brand Awareness Baseline
Ordinal (1–5)
Search/media/endorsement.
Distribution Concentration Risk
Ordinal (1–5)
Reliance on a single platform/channel.
F. Operations & Delivery (8)
Operational capabilities, team structure and delivery factors
Team Experience Density
Ordinal (1–5)
Domain/serial‑founder/big‑tech background.
Capacity & Utilization
Ordinal (1–5)
Slack vs bottleneck.
Key‑Person Dependency
Ordinal (1–5)
Single‑point‑of‑failure risk.
Process Maturity
Ordinal (1–5)
Standardization/automation/documentation.
Supply‑Chain Resilience
Ordinal (1–5)
Multi‑sourcing/backups/geodiversity.
Lead Time
Categorical
Days/weeks/months; compressibility.
Inventory Coverage
Categorical
Safety stock/turnover days.
QA/Compliance Pass Rate Hint
Ordinal (1–5)
Internal/external audit cues.
G. Finance & Capital Constraints (7)
Financial health, funding status and capital-related factors
Cash Runway (Months) Hint
Categorical
<3 / 3–6 / 6–12 / >12.
Burn Rate Hint
Ordinal (1–5)
High/medium/low vs revenue or funding.
Liquidity Buffer
Ordinal (1–5)
Credit lines/cash equivalents.
External Funding Probability Hint
Ordinal (1–5)
Investor intent/TS signs.
Debt/Covenant Risk
Ordinal (1–5)
Repayment/ratio covenants.
Breakeven Proximity
Ordinal (1–5)
Achieved/near/far.
Downside Capacity
Ordinal (1–5)
Max loss/tolerable drawdown.
H. Timing & Uncertainty (6)
Time-sensitive factors and uncertainty-related considerations
Deadline Rigidity
Ordinal (1–5)
Hard window vs soft window.
Option Value of Waiting
Ordinal (1–5)
Value of delaying to learn more.
Information Arrival Schedule
Categorical
T+30/T+60 style milestones.
Market Volatility Hint
Ordinal (1–5)
High/medium/low volatility cues.
Major‑Event Proximity
Ordinal (1–5)
Regulation/holiday/launch/earnings.
Blackout Window
Binary
Any period when action is restricted.
I. Risk & Compliance (5)
Risk exposure and compliance-related factors
Legal/Litigation Exposure
Ordinal (1–5)
Contract/IP/enforcement risk.
Data & Privacy Risk
Ordinal (1–5)
PII/regulatory frameworks.
Safety/Health Risk
Ordinal (1–5)
Production/site/user safety.
Reputation Risk
Ordinal (1–5)
Media/social sentiment risk.
ESG/Sustainability Impact
Ordinal (1–5)
Environmental/labor/governance.
J. Evidence Quality & Bias (6)
Data quality indicators and cognitive bias factors
Data Completeness
Ordinal (1–5)
Coverage of critical variables.
Sample Size & Recency
Ordinal (1–5)
Fresh, comparable data volume.
Case Similarity Score
Ordinal (1–5)
Match to historical cases.
Source Reliability
Ordinal (1–5)
Primary/secondary/rumor.
Cognitive Bias Hint
Categorical
Overconfidence/confirmation/sunk‑cost, etc.
Goal‑Specification Bias Hint
Categorical
Metric substitution/goal drift, etc.