The Value-Analytic Hierarchy Process: a Lean Multi Criteria Decision Support Method

Abstract The Analytic Hierarchy Process uses pairwise comparison in order to define priorities for criteria and for alternatives, obtaining an overall ranking which represents a “rational decision”. In literature there are many examples of AHP applications where, in order to operate the ranking of alternatives according to qualitative and quantitative criteria, authors assign an utility value to the judgments on qualitative criteria but also to the values assumed on the basis of quantitative criteria. A modified approach, that was called Value-Analytic Hierarchy Process (V-AHP), was developed as a combination of traditional AHP rating on qualitative criteria and a “lean” rating on quantitative criteria. Such procedure allows to limit the use of the traditional AHP method only to criteria expressed by qualitative judgments and/or by scales different from ratio ones. A numerical example was carried out, according to the introduced methodology, in order to rank 15 potential simulated industrial investments evaluated by qualitative and quantitative criteria. The V-AHP can be defined a “lean” Multi Criteria Decision Support Method potentially applicable to any multi-criteria decision-making context.