Multi-criteria Decision Support System in a Distributed Environment
Md Mahmudur Rahman Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department Montana State University Bozeman, MT 59717-3800, USA
Abstract
Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) has experienced a lot of advancement during the last few decades. However, the methods developed and refined in the field of MCDM mostly benefitted the corporate managers. There has been no decision support system for general people. This paper, considering “Decision Supporting in a Distributed Environment” as an area of future research, tried to provide a framework of developing a new decision support tool for general people. The new decision support tool was developed combining Multi Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) and Hypothetical Equivalents and Inequivalents Method (HEIM). The new tool is designed to be easily understandable, easy to administer, taking less time and efficient. A step by step explanation of the new tool with the help of an example is presented in the paper. At the end, different ways to refine the tool and discussion on how to build the decision support system is presented. This type of decision support tool could be adopted by online retail sellers to provide their users a way of efficiently comparing between different alternatives.
Keywords
Multi-Criteria Decision Making, MCDM, Multi Attribute Utility Theory, MAUT, Hypothetical Equivalents and Inequivalents Method, HEIM, Decision Supporting in a Distributed Environment.
Rahman: Decision Support System in a Distributed Environment
1. Introduction
Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) can be defined as the study of methods and procedures by which concerns about multiple conflicting criteria can be formally incorporated into the management planning process [1]. MCDM evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of alternatives based on multiple criteria and
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