Decision making is the process of synthesizing available information and deliberating on options to choose the most effective means of reaching a desired outcome. It is the ultimate responsibility of decision makers to ensure the selection of an action that effectively achieves the best balance between ethical considerations, economic costs and benefits, and risk tolerance. The successful practice of decision making also depends on anticipating plausible consequences, understanding the decision's regional, social, and political context, as well as understanding how human cognitive biases may factor into the process. Decision making should be viewed as more than an algorithmic choice based on moral values, but instead, an understanding of multiple variables, complex implications, and a broader system.

See also: collective action, game theory, complexity science, confirmation bias, coordination failure