Decision-making software

Decision-making computer code (DMS) may be a variety of call network to assist people and organizations with their decision-making processes, usually leading to ranking, sorting or selecting from among alternatives.

An early example of DMS was delineate in 1973. before the arrival of the planet Wide net, most DMS was spreadsheet-based, with the primary web-based DMS showing within the mid-1990stoday, a minimum of twenty DMS product (mostly web-based) square measure accessible.

Though DMS exists for the varied stages of structuring and finding call issues – from brain-storming issues to representing decision-maker preferences and reaching choices – most DMS focuses on selecting from among a bunch of alternatives characterised on multiple criteria or attributes.

Purpose

DMS may be a tool that's supposed to support the analysis concerned in decision-making processes, to not replace it. "DMS ought to be wont to support the method, not because the driving or dominating force." DMS frees users "from the technical implementation details [of the decision-making methodology utilized – mentioned within the next section], permitting them to specialise in the basic worth judgements".even so, DMS mustn't use blindly. "Before employing a computer code, it's necessary to possess a sound data of the adopted methodology and of the choice drawback at hand."

Decision-making methods

Most call-making processes supported by DMS square measure supported decision analysis, most typically multi-criteria deciding (MCDM). MCDM involves evaluating and mixing alternatives' characteristics on 2 or a lot of criteria or attributes so as to rank, kind or choose between among the alternatives.

DMS employs a range of MCDM methods;widespread examples embrace (and see the table below):

Aggregated Indices organization methodology (AIRM)

Analytic Hierarchy method (AHP)

Analytic network method (ANP, Associate in Nursing extension of AHP)

Elimination and selection Expressing Reality (ELECTRE)

Multi-attribute international logical thinking of quality (MAGIQ)

Multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT)

Potentially all pairwise rankings of all attainable alternatives (PAPRIKA)

Preference Ranking Organization methodology for Enrichment analysis (PROMETHEE)

Simple multi-attribute rating technique (SMART)

Naturally, there square measure vital variations between these methods[6][8] and, consequently, the DMS implementing them. Such variations include:

The extent to that the choice drawback is broken into a hierarchy of sub-problems;

Whether or not pairwise comparisons of alternatives and/or criteria square measure wont to elicit decision-makers' preferences;

The use of interval scale or quantitative relation scale measurements of decision-makers' preferences;

The number of criteria included;

The number of alternatives evaluated, starting from many (finite) to infinite;

The extent to that numerical scores square measure wont to worth and/or rank alternatives;

The extent to that incomplete rankings (relative to finish rankings) of alternatives square measure made.

Software features

In addition to serving to decision-makers to rank, kind or choose between among alternatives, DMS product usually embrace a range of further options and tools;[3][4] examples include:

Time analysis and time optimisation

Sensitivity analysis and mathematical logic calculations

Risk aversion activity

Group analysis (teamwork)

Graphic or visual presentation tools