This book develops a whole strategy for decision-making, with the full participation of the decision-maker and utilizing continuous feedback. It introduces the use of the very well-known and proven methodology, linear programming, but specially adapted for this purpose. For this, it incorporates a method to include subjective concepts, as well as the possibility of working with many different and even contradictory objectives. The book is liberally populated with diverse case studies to illustrate the concepts. This practical guide will be of interest to anyone undertaking analysis and decision-making, on both simple and complex projects, and who is looking for a strategy to organize, classify, and evaluate the large amount of information required to make an informed decision. The strategy includes methods to analyze the results and extract conclusions from them.

This book examines multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) and presents the Sequential Interactive Modelling for Urban Systems (SIMUS) as a method to be used for strategic decision making. It emphasizes the necessity to take into account aspects related to real world scenarios and incorporating possible real life aspects for modelling. The book also highlights the use of sensitivity analysis and presents a method for using criteria marginal values instead of weights, which permits the drawing of curves that depicts the variations of the objective function due to variations of these marginal values. In this way it also gives quantitative values of the objective function allowing stakeholders to perform a comprehensive risk analysis for a solution when it is affected by exogenous variables. Strategic Approach in Multi-Criteria Decision Making: A Practical Guide for Complex Scenarios is divided into three parts. Part 1 is devoted to exploring the history and development of the discipline and the way it is currently used. It highlights drawbacks and problems that scholars have identified in different MCDM methods and techniques. Part 2 addresses best practices to assure quality MCDM process. Part 3 introduces the concept of Linear Programming and the proposed SIMUS method as techniques to deal with MCDM. It also includes case studies in order to help document and illustrate difficult concepts, especially related to demands from a scenario and also in their modelling. The decision making process can be a complex task, especially with multi-criteria problems. With large amounts of information, it can be an extremely difficult to make a rational decision, due to the number of intervening variables, their interrelationships, potential solutions that might exist, diverse objectives envisioned for a project, etc. The SIMUS method has been designed to offer a strategy to help organize, classify, and evaluate this information effectively.

Multicriteria analysis is a rapidly growing aspect of operations research and management science, with numerous practical applications in a wide range of fields. This book presents all the recent advances in multicriteria analysis, including multicriteria optimization, goal programming, outranking methods, and disaggregation techniques. The latest developments on robustness analysis, preference elicitation, and decision making when faced with incomplete information, are also discussed, together with applications in business performance evaluation, finance, and marketing. Finally, the interactions of multicriteria analysis with other disciplines are also explored, including among others data mining, artificial intelligence, and evolutionary methods.

This book presents a broad range of innovative applications and case studies in all areas of management and engineering, including public administration, finance, marketing, engineering, transportation, and energy systems. It addresses issues related to problem structuring, preference modeling, and model construction, presenting a framework that provides clear decision-making support in practice. In addition, it includes hybrid and integrated techniques combining multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) with other analytical methods. The book reflects the growing impact of MCDM in the field of management science and operations research. Building on recent and established theoretical advances and presenting their applications in specific domains, it offers a comprehensive resource for researchers, graduate students and professionals alike.

With contributions from some of the top academics and scientists in the field, Advanced Studies in Multi-Criteria Decision Making presents an updated view of the landscape of Decision Sciences, current research topics, the interaction with other sciences and fields, as well as the prospects and challenges at an international level. Given that Decision Sciences are recognized today as indispensable for confronting the major societal challenges in science and technology, this book would be of interest to decision-makers, managers, and researchers from academia, and industrial/services companies that would like a fresh insight into MCDM. Features Integrates a wide range of scientific fields with a general reader approach, including applied researchers from the social, business, enterprise sciences Suitable for academics and professionals Presents a broad coverage of MCDM tools either in industry or in services companies and systems Provides a fresh overview on MCDM studies promoted by prestigious R&D institutions