link to Home Page

Trade Study

There are many projects that could be done at the Troubled Times Inc. Wisconsin site. These projects need to be characterized in terms of their importance and the ability to carry them through with a limited amount of funds and man-power. Based on a careful Evaluation of how well each of the 29 possible Choices could meet the 9 major criteria considered, Worm Bed Prototype and Demo appears to be the best choice. The question of determining which projects which should have highest Priority was evaluated by means of a Decision Table. The Criteria used to evaluate the options were (in order of importance):

- How Important is it to Perform this Activity
- Likelihood this Activity will lead to the Increasing of Troubled Times Inc. Income
- Benefit to Cost Ratio
- Cost Specific to this Activity is Low
- Activity Uses Proven Technology
- Cost Can be Shared with other Activities
- This Activity is Applicable to the Primitive solution Set
- Activity is Applicable to a Settlement
- Activity is not Limited to the High Tech Solution Set

Of all of the choices considered, 3 were considered to be leading candidates. These top options were:

1. Worm Bed Prototype and Demo
2. Survival Training For One with nothing but a backpack
3. Provide Streaming Audio / Video Capability on the Internet

Likelihood this Activity will lead to the Increasing of TT Inc. Income was the most significant factor leading to the choice of 1 over 2. Cost Specific to this Activity is Low and Benefit to Cost Ratio were the most significant factors leading to the choice of 1 over 3. The reason 2 received a rating of Excellent for Benefit to Cost Ratio was: The only costs associated with this project is the cost of video production.