Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis
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Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), sometimes called Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM), is a discipline aimed at supporting decision makers who are faced with making numerous and conflicting evaluations. MCDA aims at highlighting these conflicts and deriving a way to come to a compromise in a transparent process.
For example, the European Parliament may apply MCDA to help assess whether the introduction of software patents in Europe would help or harm the European software industry. Since MCDA involves a certain element of subjectiveness, the morals and ethics of the researcher implementing MCDA play a significant part in the accuracy and fairness of MCDA's conclusions. The ethical point is very important when one is making a decision that seriously impacts on other people, as opposed to a personal decision. Some of the MCDA methods are:
- Analytic hierarchy process (AHP)
- Inner Product of Vectors (IPV)
- Multi-attribute value theory (MAVT)
- Multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT)
- Multi-attribute global inference of quality (MAGIQ)
- Goal programming
- ELECTRE (Outranking)
- PROMETHÉE (Outranking)
- Data Envelopment Analysis
- The evidential reasoning approach
- Dominance-based Rough Set Approach (DRSA)
- Aggregated indices randomization method (AIRM)
- Nonstructural fuzzy decision support system (NSFDSS)
- Grey relational analysis (GRA)
- Superiority and inferiority ranking method (SIR method)
The choice of which model is most appropriate depends on the problem at hand and may be to some extent dependent on which model the decision maker is most comfortable with.
The New Approach to Appraisal (NATA), which is a framework used to appraise transport projects and proposals in the United Kingdom, is a major practical application of an MCDA-based approach to support Government decision making. Other applications of MCDA approaches used by the UK Government are set out in its own MCDA manual.
The International Society on Multi-criteria Decision Making is a professional society of researchers and practitioners in the field.
[edit] General form
A number of strategies (also called: alternatives / actions) and a number of criteria (also called: aspects / dimensions) by which they are ranked.
| ' | Criterion 1 (f1) | Criterion 2 | Criterion 3 | Criterion n |
| Strategy 1 (S1) | f1(S1) | |||
| Strategy 2 | ||||
| Strategy 3 | ||||
| Strategy n | fn(Sn) |
[edit] Classification
A classification is often made, based on the size of the set of strategies:
- MADM (Multi-Attribute Decision Making), concerned with choosing from small, finite, or countable number of strategies.
and
- MODM (Multi-Objective Decision Making), concerned with choosing from a large, infinite, or uncountable number of alternatives.
MCDA's are also often classified based upon the type of aggregation or the nature of the input data.
[edit] References
- Andrew, J. H., Stefan, H., & Elisabeth, B. (2008). A multi-objective model for environmental investment decision making. Comput. Oper. Res., 35(1), 253-266.
- Pournamdarian, A., (2008). Multi-Criteria Decision Making by using Inner Product of Vectors. http://knol.google.com/k/ali-pournamdarian/multi-criteria-decision-making-by-using/uhvrtfzaegen/4#
- Scholz, R.W. & Tietje, O. (2002). Embedded Case Study Methods. Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Knowledge. Sage Publications. Thousand Oaks, Sage. ISBN 0761919465
- Tam CM, Tong TKL, Leung AWT and Chiu GWC (2002), Site Layout Planning using Nonstructural Fuzzy Decision Support System, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 128, No. 3, May/June 2002, pp. 220–231
- Tam CM, Tong TKL and Chiu GWC, (2006), Comparing non-structural fuzzy decision support system and analytical hierarchy process in decision-making for construction problems, European Journal of Operational Research, Volume 174, Issue 2, 16 October, Pages 1317-1324
- Chan WK and Tong TKL, (2007), Multi-criteria material selections and end-of-life product strategy: Grey relational analysis approach, Materials & Design, Volume 28, Issue 5, Pages 1539-1546
- Tam CM,Tong TKL,Wong YW, (2004), Selection of Concrete Pump Using the Superiority and Inferiority Ranking Method, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Volume 130, Issue 6, pp. 827–834 (November/December)
- Free Multi-criteria Decision Aiding (MCDA) Tools for Research Students http://sites.google.com/site/mcdafreeware/
