Simple procedures of choice in multicriteria problems without precise information about the alternatives’ values

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThe additive model of multiattribute value theory is widely used in multicriteria choice problems. But often it is not easy to obtain precise values for the scaling weights or the alternatives' value in each function. Several decision rules which require weaker information, such as ordinal information, have been proposed to select an alternative under these circumstances. We propose new decision rules and test them using Monte-Carlo simulation, considering that there is ordinal information both on the scaling weights and on the alternatives' values. Results show the new rules constitute a good approximation. We provide guidelines about how to use these rules in a context of selecting a subset of the most promising alternatives, considering the contradictory objectives of keeping a low number of alternatives yet not excluding the best one.

A Review of Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods Applied to the Sustainable Bridge Design

“…The difference between both is that COPRAS allows the consideration of maximizing and minimizing criteria. [24] Other Quality function development (QFD) [25] The basic principle of the distance-based method is obtaining the distance among each alternative and a specific point. Within this group, there are two different philosophies.…”

Dominance measuring methods within MAVT/MAUT with imprecise information concerning decision-makers' preferences

“…Ordinal information about the component values/utilities of the alternatives could also be considered ( [20], [3]), i.e., the DM provides a ranking of the alternatives in each attribute. Moreover, rankings of the difference between the values of consecutive alternatives could be also taken into account for each attribute.…”

“…Several reasons are given in the literature that justify why a decision-maker (DM) may wish to provide imprecise information ( [20], [25]). For example, a DM might prefer not to reveal his/her preferences in public or could feel more comfortable providing a scale to represent attribute importance, or might also have different more or less reliable sources of information.…”

GMAA: A DSS Based on the Decision Analysis Methodology - Application Survey and Further Developments

“…However, most complex decision-making problems involve imprecise information. Several reasons are given in the literature to justify why a DM may wish to provide incomplete information (Weber, 1987;Sarabando & Dias, 2010). For instance, regarding alternative performances, some parameters of the model may be intangible or non-monetary as they reflect social or environmental impacts.…”

“…This situation was also considered by other authors (Bana e Costa, 1986;Charnetski & Soland, 1978;Nijkamp et al, 1990;and Voogd, 1983). (Sarabando & Dias, 2010) gives a brief overview of approaches proposed by different authors within the MAUT and MAVT (multi-attribute value theory) framework to deal with incomplete information.…”