Pros and cons: weigh the consequences
Weigh benefits, drawbacks, and consequences instead of merely counting arguments.
- Weigh the arguments
- Trace the consequences
- Involve stakeholders
Pros and cons in 5 steps
Compare realistic options, their consequences, and opportunity costs. The weight of an argument matters more than the number of points.
Define the options
State at least two clearly distinct alternatives.
Capture the advantages
List the short- and long-term benefits.
Examine the disadvantages
Check risks, downstream effects, hidden costs, and forgone alternatives.
Test strategic fit
Compare each option with goals, priorities, and constraints.
Involve stakeholders
Identify who provides facts, decides, or must support implementation.
What the analysis looks like
Example: build a reporting platform or buy a SaaS product.
Options
Build an internal platform or license a SaaS product.
Advantages
An internal build offers full control. SaaS could be operational within eight weeks and maintained by the vendor.
Disadvantages
Building internally ties up two engineers for nine months and delays the onboarding project. SaaS limits customization and creates vendor dependency.
Strategic fit
SaaS speeds up customer activation. An internal build strengthens long-term platform independence.
Stakeholders
Engineering validates effort, Security and Legal review data handling, Customer Success clarifies needs, and Finance checks the budget.
The result shows the decisive arguments and open assumptions. It does not choose a winner for you.
When this method helps
Use this analysis for directional decisions with long-term effects or uncertainty that is hard to explain.
Limits and when to pause
A list alone does not show probability, importance, or dependencies. Use another method for weighted comparisons or highly uncertain evidence.
Where Reflacto uses this method
Choose the situation you want to reflect on:
Key benefits
- Surfaces hidden costs and benefits
- Tests long-term consequences and priorities
- Records the reasoning for later review
Questions Reflacto asks
Reflacto turns the method into these concrete reflection questions:
- 1What are the viable options you're considering?
- 2What are the key advantages or potential upsides of each option?
- 3What are the risks, costs, or downsides of each option?
- 4How well does each option align with long-term strategic goals, product direction, or company mission?
- 5Who are the critical stakeholders for each option, and what input or buy-in do you need from them?
Common questions about pros and cons analysis
Why don't ordinary pros and cons lists work?
- They count arguments and often confirm an existing preference. Weigh each point and add a time horizon so seven weak benefits do not outweigh one decisive risk.
What are second-order effects?
- They are consequences of consequences: shipping faster now may create debt that slows delivery later. Ask “what happens next?” twice.
How do I account for opportunity cost?
- For each option, write what will not happen because capacity is limited. Compare that with the best alternative use.
What if I've already made up my mind?
- Write the strongest opposing case. If that is difficult, you have not examined the alternative seriously. That does not force you to switch.
Origin and Reflacto's adaptation
The method has no single owner. Its documented origin is a 1772 letter from Benjamin Franklin to Joseph Priestley describing “moral or prudential algebra.”
Also known as: pros and cons list, Franklin’s moral algebra
What Reflacto changed
Franklin weighed reasons for and against on one page. Reflacto also asks about long-term goals and which stakeholders need input or buy-in.
Primary sources and further reading
- Franklin to Priestley, 1772: the moral algebra letterFranklin’s 1772 description of weighing reasons for and against, held by the US National Archives.
- Gabler Wirtschaftslexikon: opportunity costsdeDefines the forgone benefit of the best unchosen alternative.
Editorially reviewed by Daniel Schmeiß
Last substantive review: August 30, 2026
Related reflection methods
Compare another method that approaches a similar situation from a different angle.