Multi-criteria decision making methods. A comparative study (Q5948298)

This book presents research experiences of the author gathered during a long search in finding which is the best Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method. A methodology has been developed for evaluating MCDM methods. This methodology examines methods for estimating the pertinent data and methods for processing these data. A number of evaluative criteria and testing procedures have been developed for this purpose. The present book attempts to bridge exactly the gap between the very real and practical essence of MCDM. It also provides a unique perspective into the core of MCDM methods and practice. Therefore, this book can provide a useful insight for people who are interested in obtaining a deep understanding of some of the most frequently used MCDM methods. The first two chapters provide an outline and background information of the most popular MCDM methods used today. The third chapter provides an exposition of some ways for quantifying qualitative data in MCDM problems. Chapters four to seven describe some different approaches for extracting relative priorities from pairwise comparisons and also of ways for reducing the number of the required judgments. Chapter eight deals with a unified sensitivity analysis approach for MCDM methods. Chapters nine to eleven deal with the comparison of different MCDM methods and procedures. Chapter ten presents a computational study of the AHP and the revised AHP. Chapter eleven presents some new cases of ranking irregularities when the AHP and some of its additive variants are used. Chapters twelve and thirteen present some fundamental concepts of fuzzy decision making.