Criteria

Criteria are the backbone of any decision in Axiom. They help you define exactly what matters most when choosing between different options. Decision hygiene improves significantly when criteria are established before the options are evaluated.

Axiom supports two distinct types of criteria:

1. Elimination Criteria

Elimination criteria act as absolute deal-breakers. These are fundamental, non-negotiable requirements that an option must meet to remain viable.

During evaluation, elimination criteria are judged using a three-state system:

  • Neutral (Unanswered): The default state. The option is not penalized while you gather information.
  • Pass: The option strictly meets the criteria.
  • Fail: The option does not meet the criteria.

Use cases for Elimination Criteria:

  • Software: "Must have SOC2 Type II compliance"
  • Hiring: "Must be willing to relocate to New York"
  • Real Estate: "Must be within a $5,000/mo budget max"

If an option fails an elimination criterion, it is immediately disqualified and visually separated from the viable options. The system will stop prioritizing it, effectively clearing the noise from your evaluation matrix.

2. Scoring Criteria

Scoring criteria are attributes that incrementally add value or detract from an option. Not all scoring criteria are equally important. Axiom allows you to assign a weight to each scoring factor to represent its relative importance.

Depending on your project's configuration, you can use one of two weighting styles:

  • Multiplier: A straightforward numeric multiplier (e.g. 1x, 2x, 5x) applied to the raw score.
  • Percentage: Distributes 100% of the total priority across your scoring criteria, helping you strictly balance trade-offs.

Use cases for Scoring Criteria:

  • Prioritization: "Impact on quarterly revenue" (Weight: 5)
  • Hiring: "React/Next.js experience depth" (Weight: 3)
  • Product: "Ease of Implementation" (Weight: 4)

Options are graded across these criteria. Axiom calculates a final score based on the option's performance in each category multiplied by the criterion's weight, generating an objective ranking of your choices.

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