1000minds is a web application for decision-making and conjoint analysis, supplied by 1000minds Ltd since 2003. It implements the PAPRIKA method (Potentially All Pairwise RanKings of all possible Alternatives) to help organizations, individuals, and groups make decisions based on multiple objectives or criteria—a form of multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA).
Overview
1000minds assists with decisions that involve ranking, prioritizing, or choosing between alternatives when multiple criteria need to be considered simultaneously. Depending on the application, budgets or other scarce resources can also be allocated across competing alternatives in pursuit of maximum "value for money."
The PAPRIKA method, which underpins the software, was invented by Franz Ombler and Paul Hansen at the University of Otago in New Zealand. It is based on pairwise comparisons (trade-off questions) presented to users one at a time. As each question is answered, the algorithm adapts and selects the next question, minimizing the total number required.
In 2023, an AI assistant was added to 1000minds, implementing OpenAI's GPT-4 technology. The AI assistant suggests criteria and examples of alternatives for the decision at hand; user preferences are then elicited using PAPRIKA, resulting in ranked alternatives.
1000minds also supports group decision-making, potentially involving hundreds or thousands of participants—working together or individually with their results aggregated.
Conjoint Analysis
1000minds conjoint analysis surveys are used for discovering consumers' or stakeholders' preferences regarding the relative importance—represented by "part-worth utilities" or "weights"—of features or attributes characterizing products or other objects of interest (i.e., choice modelling, conjoint analysis, and discrete choice experiments).
Applications
1000minds has been used across a wide range of fields, including:
- Health: Prioritizing patients for elective surgery, developing classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis, gout, and other conditions.
- Environment: Marine ecosystem management, climate change research, and ecological restoration.
- Urban planning and waste management: Measuring walkability, recycling methods evaluation.
- Breeding: Animal breeding (sheep, dairy cattle) and plant breeding (pasture species).
- Policy-making research: Monetary policy, retirement income policies.
- Management and accounting: Corporate strategic management, measuring business goodwill.
- Information and communication technology: Cloud computing adoption, intelligent transportation systems.
MeenyMo
A free consumer-oriented web application based on 1000minds technology, known as MeenyMo, was released in 2016 to help with "everyday" decision-making.
Recognition
1000minds (originally branded as Point Wizard) and several of its applications have won or been finalists for a number of innovation awards, including the Consensus Software Awards sponsored by IBM and Microsoft, the Healthcare Innovation Award, and the NZ Hi-Tech Awards. As of 2025, it is used at over 910 universities and research institutions worldwide, with more than 1,400 academic projects and publications citing its use.
