Analytic hierarchy process

A simple AHP hierarchy, with final priorities. The goal is to select the most suitable leader from a field of three candidates. The factors to be considered are experience, education, charisma, and age. According to the judgments of the decision makers, Dick is the strongest candidate, followed by Tom, then Harry. Their decision process is described in depth in an appendix to this article.

In the theory of decision making, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), also analytical hierarchy process,[1] is a structured technique for organizing and analyzing complex decisions, based on mathematics and psychology. It was developed by Thomas L. Saaty in the 1970s; Saaty partnered with Ernest Forman to develop Expert Choice software in 1983, and AHP has been extensively studied and refined since then. It represents an accurate approach to quantifying the weights of decision criteria. Individual experts’ experiences are utilized to estimate the relative magnitudes of factors through pair-wise comparisons. Each of the respondents compares the relative importance of each pair of items using a specially designed questionnaire. The relative importance of the criteria can be determined with the help of the AHP by comparing the criteria and, if applicable, the sub-criteria in pairs by experts or decision-makers. On this basis, the best alternative can be found.[2]

  1. ^ Forman, Ernest H.; Saul I. Gass (July 2001). "The analytical hierarchy process—an exposition". Operations Research. 49 (4): 469–487. doi:10.1287/opre.49.4.469.11231.
  2. ^ Fabianek, Paul; Christian Will; Stefanie Wolff; Reinhard Madlener (2020). "Green and regional? A multi-criteria assessment framework for the provision of green electricity for electric vehicles in Germany". Transportation Research Part D. 87 (D): 102504. doi:10.1016/j.trd.2020.102504.