- Decision-making software
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Decision-making software (DMS) is a term integrating decision analysis tools to facilitate a person's decision-making process, which results in a choice of a course of action or a variant among several alternatives. DMS belongs to the class of decision support systems used to structure information, identify and solve problems and make decisions.
Contents
Basic principles
DMS is based on multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and its varieties such as Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), analytic network process (ANP — extension of AHP), PROMETHEE, multi-attribute value theory (MAVT), multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT), multi-attribute global inference of quality (MAGIQ), potentially all pairwise rankings of all possible alternatives (PAPRIKA).
A decision problem is first decomposed into a hierarchy of more easily comprehended sub-problems, each of which can be analyzed independently. The elements of the hierarchy can relate to any aspect of the decision problem — tangible or intangible, carefully measured or roughly estimated, well- or poorly-understood.
Once a decision tree is built, the decision makers evaluate its various elements using concrete data for the elements or their own judgments about the elements' relative meanings and importance.
In the final step of the process, numerical priorities are calculated for each of the decision alternatives.
Additional features
Besides evaluation of alternatives and finding the best solutions DM-software often features additional tools for effective decision analysis:
- Pairwise comparison
- Time analysis and time optimization
- Sensitivity analysis and fuzzy logic calculations
- Risk aversion measurement
- Group evaluation (teamwork)
- Graphic or visual presentation tools
- Web-based version
DMS comparison table
Software Supported MCDA method(s) Pairwise comparison Time analysis Sensitivity analysis Group evaluation Risk management Web-based version 1000Minds PAPRIKA Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Analytica No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Criterium DecisionPlus AHP No No Yes No No No DecideIT MAUT Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Decision Lab Yes No Yes No Yes No Decision Lens AHP ANP Yes Yes Yes Yes Expert Choice AHP Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Hiview3 No No Yes Yes No No Logical Decisions No No Yes No No No MakeItRational AHP Yes No Yes Yes No Yes MindDecider AHP Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No TreeAge Pro No No Yes No Yes No See also
- PROMETHEE : decision making method based on pairwise comparisons
- Decision-making
- Decision support system
- Decision engineering
- Multi-criteria decision analysis
- Analytic hierarchy process
- Project management software
- List of mind-mapping software
- Potentially all pairwise rankings of all possible alternatives (PAPRIKA) method
- Strategic planning software
References
- Figueira, J., Greco, S., Ehrgott, M. (2005). Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis: State of the Art Surveys Series: International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, Vol. 78, XXXVI, 1045 p. ISBN 978-0-387-23067-2
- Maxwell D. (2008). Decision Analysis: Find a Tool that Fits, OR/MS Today, Vol. 35. Issue 5.
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