Analytic Hierarchy Process

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The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a technique for dealing with complex decisions where a number of competing factors demand consideration. It is especially suited to problems with high stakes, involving human perceptions and judgments, whose resolutions have long-term repercussions.[1] AHP provides a comprehensive and rational framework for structuring a problem, for representing its elements and quantifying them, for relating those elements to overall goals, and for evaluating alternative solutions.

While it can be used by individuals working on straightforward problems, AHP is most commonly applied where teams of people are working on highly complex situations, particularly where some of the elements are difficult to quantify. Computer software is available to assist in the application of the process.

Developed in the 1970s by mathematician Thomas L. Saaty, AHP has been applied worldwide, in a wide variety of decision situations, in fields such as government, business, industry, healthcare, quality, and education.

Uses of AHP

The applications of AHP to complex decision situations number in the thousands,[2] typically where problems are important and complex. Many such uses are never reported to the outside world, because they take place at high levels of large organizations, where security and privacy considerations prohibit their disclosure. But some uses of AHP are discussed in the literature. Recently these have included:

  • Deciding how best to reduce the impact of global climate change (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei)[3]
  • Quantifying the overall quality of software systems (Microsoft Corporation)[4]
  • Selecting university faculty (Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania) [5]
  • Deciding where to locate offshore manufacturing plants (University of Cambridge)[6]
  • Assessing risk in operating cross-country petroleum pipelines (American Society of Civil Engineers)[7]
  • Deciding how best to manage U.S. watersheds (U.S. Department of Agriculture)[2]

AHP was recently applied to a project that uses video footage to assess the condition of highways in Virginia. Highway engineers first used it to determine the optimum scope of the project, then to justify its budget to lawmakers.[8]

The process is widely used in countries around the world. At a recent international conference on AHP, over 90 papers were presented from 19 countries, including the U.S., Germany, Japan, Chile, Malaysia, and Nepal. Topics covered ranged from Establishing Payment Standards for Surgical Specialists, to Strategic Technology Roadmapping, to Infrastructure Reconstruction in Devastated Countries.[9] AHP was introduced in China in 1982, and its application has expanded greatly since then—its methods are highly compatible with the traditional Chinese decision making framework, and it has been used for many decisions in the fields of economics, energy, management, environment, traffic, agriculture, industry, and the military.[10]

How AHP works

Under Construction
AHP is a method that breaks complexity into manageable pieces, works with each piece, then collectively evaluates all the pieces. The steps are...

Express the problem as a hierarchy

In this step, the participants analyze the problem at hand and formulate it as a hierarchy. The hierarchy consists of a goal, a group of subgoals, sub-subgoals, etc. called criteria, and a group of options or alternatives. The content of the hierarchy will depend on the real-world nature of the problem at hand and on the knowledge, needs and values of the participants in the process.

In an AHP hierarchy for the simple case of buying an automobile, the goal might be to buy the best car for the Jones family. The criteria to be considered might be cost, carrying capacity, safety, and stylishness. The cost criterion might be subdivided into purchase price, fuel expense, repair costs, and resale value. Subcriteria for carrying capacity might be passenger capacity and cargo capacity. The alternatives for the family, which for personal reasons never buys anything but Hondas, might be the Accord Sedan, Accord Hybrid Sedan, Odyssey Minivan, and Pilot SUV.

The Jones' hierarchy could be diagrammed like this:

INSERT A DIAGRAM HERE


The first step in using AHP to deal with a problem is to break the problem into a hierarchy.

  • Determine an overall goal for the decision. Place it at the top of the hierarchy.
  • Determine the alternatives for the decision. Place them at the bottom of the hierarchy.
  • Determine the factors that relate the alternatives to the goal. Place them in the middle of the hierarchy, in as many levels and sublevels as the problem requires.
  1. Establish priorities for the elements of the hierarchy.
  2. Investigate the logical consistency of the priorities established in step 2.

Teaching AHP

Though using AHP requires no specialized academic training, the subject is widely taught at the university level—one AHP software provider lists over a hundred colleges and universities among its clients.[11] AHP is considered an important subject in many institutions of higher learning, including schools of engineering[12] and graduate schools of business.[13] AHP is also an important subject in the quality field, and is taught in many specialized courses including Six Sigma and QFD.[14][15][16]

In China, nearly a hundred schools offer courses in AHP, and many doctoral students choose AHP as the subject of their research and dissertations. Over 900 papers have been published on the subject in that country, and there is at least one Chinese scholarly journal devoted exclusively to AHP.[10]

See also

Multi Criteria Decision Making

References

  1. ↑ Bhushan, Navneet; Kanwal Rai (January, 2004). Strategic Decision Making: Applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process. London: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 1852337567. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 de Steiguer, J.E. (October, 2003), The Analytic Hierarchy Process as a Means for Integrated Watershed Management, in Renard, Kenneth G., First Interagency Conference on Research on the Watersheds, Benson, Arizona: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, at 736-740
  3. ↑ Berrittella, M. (January, 2007), An Analytic Hierarchy Process for the Evaluation of Transport Policies to Reduce Climate Change Impacts, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (Milano)
  4. ↑ McCaffrey, James (June, 2005). "Test Run: The Analytic Hierarchy Process". MSDN Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  5. ↑ Grandzol, John R. (August, 2005). "Improving the Faculty Selection Process in Higher Education: A Case for the Analytic Hierarchy Process". IR Applications 6. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  6. ↑ Atthirawong, Walailak (September, 2002), An Application of the Analytical Hierarchy Process to International Location Decision-Making, in Gregory, Mike, Proceedings of The 7th Annual Cambridge International Manufacturing Symposium: Restructuring Global Manufacturing, Cambridge, England: University of Cambridge, at 1-18
  7. ↑ Dey, Prasanta Kumar (November, 2003). "Analytic Hierarchy Process Analyzes Risk of Operating Cross-Country Petroleum Pipelines in India". Natural Hazards Review 4 (4): 213-221. Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
  8. ↑ Larson, Charles D. (January, 2007), Application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process to Select Project Scope for Videologging and Pavement Condition Data Collection, 86th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers CD-ROM, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies
  9. ↑ Participant Names and Papers, ISAHP 2005, Honolulu, Hawaii (July, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Sun, Hongkai (July, 2005), AHP in China, in Levy, Jason, Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on the Analytic Hierarchy Process, Honolulu, Hawaii
  11. ↑ List of Expert Choice education clients. Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
  12. ↑ Drake, P.R. (1998). "Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process in Engineering Education". International Journal of Engineering Education 14 (3): 191-196. Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
  13. ↑ Bodin, Lawrence; Saul I. Gass (January, 2004). "Exercises for Teaching the Analytic Hierarchy Process". INFORMS Transactions on Education 4 (2). Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
  14. ↑ Hallowell, David L. (January, 2005). "Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) -- Getting Oriented". iSixSigma.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  15. ↑ "Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)". QFD Institute. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.
  16. ↑ "Analytical Hierarchy Process: Overview". TheQualityPortal.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-21.

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