A Case Study Comparison of the Analytic Hierarchy Process and a Fuzzy Decision Methodology

ABSTRACT

The Analytic Hierarchy Process has been widely used for decision analysis, especially in situations where there are important qualitative aspects that require consideration in conjunction with various measurable quantitative factors. The popularity of the method can be attributed in part to the comparatively simple manner by which it combines qualitative ratings with quantitative measurements to arrive at overall priorities for the alternatives. In recent times another multicriterial decision methodology has emerged based on Fuzzy Set Theory. This method uses everyday words for rating and translates these linguistic variables into fuzzy sets for subsequent operations. The method is also relatively simple to apply and possess a similar ability to the Analytic Hierarchy Process for combining quantitative and qualitative factors. These two methods were applied to the question of whether to introduce a new IT system into a public hospital. Both, the same factors and the same experts for rating, were used when applying the methods. The results and practical aspects of using the two methods are compared.