Decision Matrix – Floating Dwelling

Criteria

Ideas

Complexity Development Time

Materials Longevity Buoyant Effectiveness

Cost

Totals

Air Mattress

3 5 4 2 5 5 24

2-Liter Bottles

2 4 4 5 5 5 25

Plastic Bags

1 3 3 3 4 5 19

1. Air mattress

2. 2-litter

bottles

3. Plastic

Bags

Scale: The greater, the better Complexity: 1 most complex, 5 least complex

A more complex design will be inefficient to build, whereas a less complicated design is

able to be build in must less time.

Development Time: 1 most amount of time, 5 least time

A design that needs more time to organize the details will not be worth the time put into it

while a simple design will be easy to follow.

Materials: 1 most amount of materials, 5 least amount of materials

Being conservative, even in a recyclable project is very important. The less waste the

better. As the number of materials and the quantity of materials becomes less, the efficiency of

the design is increased, making the eco-project even more environmentally friendly.

Longevity: 1 lasts for a short period of time, 5 lasts for a long period of time

Even the lifespan is important for a product. If the product will not last for more than a

few months than it isn’t worth the small cost put into it on top of the materials cost. The product

lifespan is to be maximized.

Buoyant Effectiveness: 1 not very effective, 5 very effective

The goal of the eco-project: Floating Dwelling is to float a small residence, if the design

is unable to float very much weight, then the design is not a good one.

Cost: 1 not very cost effective, 5 very cost effective

A net cost of the project, including outside materials, which is not ideal, shows how truly

eco-friendly the project is.

1 2 3 4 5

Complexity Most complex More

complex

Complex Less complex Least

complex

Development

time

Most time

A week

More time

5 days

Medium time

3 days

Less time

A day

Least time

2 hours

Materials Most amount

of materials

100 pieces

Medium

amount of

materials

50 pieces

Decent

amount of

materials

30 pieces

Less amount

of materials

25 pieces

Least amount

of materials

17 pieces

Longevity Lasts for the

less amount

of time- a

month

Lasts for less

amount of

time – a year

Lasts for a

medium

amount of

time- 5 years

Lasts for

more amount

of time- 10

years

Last for the

most amount

of time- 20

years

Buoyant

Effectiveness

Least

effective

50 Ibs.

Semi

effective

100 Ibs.

Effective

100 Ibs.

More

effective

150 Ibs.

Very effective

250 Ibs.

Cost $300- $250 $200 $150 $120 $75 and under

By: John Tobias, Brian Jestice, Anthony Cairns, Diane Kohlin