Product Description
     ===================
     
          WAPS helps you (or a committee) compare the features

     shared by different options and select the option that meets

     your needs the best.  Options could be something you want to

     buy such as a car or a sterio or even a house.  You decide

     how important different features are and you rate each

     option according to how well it supports each feature.  WAPS

     crunches the numbers and suggests the best option.



     System Requirements:

     +  IBM PC or compatable

     +  64K RAM

     +  5 1/4" Disk
     


     About WAPS
     ----------
     
          WAPS stands for Weighted Averages Processing System.

     This system helps you select an option among a group of

     options.  You describe the options by listing their

     features.  You describe each feature by listing its sub-

     features.  For each feature you assign a weight between 1

     and 100 (using WAPSWGT) to describe its relative importance.

     IMPORTANT: The weights of a feature's sub-features MUST

     total to EXACTLY 100.  For each feature that has no sub-

     features you assign a value between 0 and 100 (using

     WAPSVAL) for each option according to how well that option

     supports that feature.  Then WAPSCALC calculates each

     option's overall rating.  You should take the option that

     gets the best score.



     Using WAPS
     ----------

          WAPS is designed for use by committees but you can use

     it by yourself simply by performing each step yourself in-

     stead of delegating responsibilities to a committee.  The

     following steps will maximize WAPS's effectiveness.

          Step 1. Identify as many options as you can.

          Step 2. Let a research team gather and summarize

                  information on each option.  Don't be sur-

                  prised if they find a few more options in

                  the process.

          Step 3. Let someone create the features outline

                  using WAPSWGT.  WAPSWGT creates a file

                  with a .WGT extension in the default dir-

                  ectory.

          Step 4. Let a team of voters assign a weight to

                  each feature using WAPSWGT as a group.

          Step 5. Let each voter assign the values inde-

                  pendantly using WAPSVAL.  IMPORTANT:  Give

                  each voter a copy of the features outline

                  created by WAPSWGT (the .WGT file) and

                  their own copy of WAPSVAL.  WAPSVAL cre-

                  ates a file with a .VAL extension in the

                  default directory.

          Step 6. Calculate which option gets the best over-

                  all score using WAPSCALC.  IMPORTANT:

                  Collect each voter's values file (the .VAL

                  files) and the features outline (the .WGT

                  file) into the same directory that

                  WAPSCALC is in.



    Helpful Hints
    -------------
                                                                
          Put WAPSWGT in it's own directory.  Give each voter

     their own directory.  Put a copy of the .WGT file created by

     WAPSWGT into each voter's directory.  Give each voter their

     own copy of WAPSVAL.  Give WAPSCALC it's own directory.  Put

     a copy of the .WGT file into the WAPSCALC directory along

     with the .VAL files that each voter created.

          Use Alt-N in WAPSWGT to add notes to your outline.  You

     can give each feature a note like "Bad = 40; Good = 60;

     Excellent = 100" and you can give each option a note for

     each feature like "Option #1: Small"; "Option #2: Large".

          Use Alt-V in WAPSVAL to edit all the options' values

     for one feature.  The down arrow advances you to the next

     feature's set of values.  Alt-V also shows you all the notes

     that were created by WAPSWGT.

          WAPS limits the number of options to 9.  To evaluate

     more than 9 options evaluate 9 at a time and keep the high-

     est scoring option for the next set of 9.  Use WAPSWGT to

     delete the 8 options that didn't make it and add 8 that

     haven't been evaluated yet.

          When editing text or numbers you can use the Home and

     End keys to move the cursor directly to the begining or end

     of the text or number.  Also, you can use the left and right

     arrow keys to move the cursor one letter or number at a

     time.  You can also toggle between Insert and Overwrite

     modes using the Insert key.  Backspace and Delete both

     function as well.  Additionally, when you are editing text

     (not a number) you can move the cursor by a word at a time

     by holding down the Ctrl key and pressing either the left or

     right arrow keys.