1 DEFINITE a DEcision support system for a FINITE set of alternatives Marjan van Herwijnen Institute for Environmental Studies Vrije Universiteit - Amsterdam June 14, 2006

2 Outline The DSS DEFINITE Highway 73-South A journey to Paris Conclusions

3 What type of problems does DEFINITE support? DEcisions on a FINITE set of alternatives Decisions with multiple objectives This type of problems are common in almost every private or public decision context: –Choosing the means of transport to the office; –Selecting the best candidate for a job vacancy; –Constructing a new airport; and of course … –Selecting the best alternative to solve the problem in the Vecht area.

4 What does DEFINITE support? Problem definition Standardization Weights Ranking Sensitivity analysis Presentation

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6 What does DEFINITE support? From problem definition to report generation This structure fits with the general decision process; The structured approach ensures that the decisions arrived at are systematic and consistent; Five case studies are included each showing a specific topic of the system.

7 What types of methods are incorporated in DEFINITE? Toolbox of methods: –Graphical methods to support representation, –Methods for weight assessment, –Multi-criteria methods, –Cost-benefit analysis, –Graphical evaluation methods, –Methods for sensitivity analysis on the results of MCA and CBA.

8 History of DEFINITE (1) Commissioned by the Ministry of Finance; The first version, DEFINITE for MSDOS, appeared in 1994; A wide range of users: –ministries, provinces, public bodies and a number of larger cities; –consultancy and engineering firms; –universities and other schools of higher education for teaching purposes.

9 History of DEFINITE (2) The second edition, DEFINITE for Windows, appeared in 2001; Experiences of all previous users are included; Better graphics are included; New developments from the MCA field are included; Standard Windows structures are used.

10 Highway 73-south Problem: An area has problems with its living environment, accessibility and economic growth. Question: What is the best way to solve these problems?

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14 Highway 73-south: Presentation of results Criteria tree; Relative contribution of the criterion groups; Ranking according to various perspectives;

15 Demo DEFINITE

16 A journey to Paris ‘Problem’: A couple wants to celebrate its 1 st anniversary in Paris Question: What is the best way to travel?

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18 A journey to Paris: From problem definition to report generation Problem definition Multi-criteria analysis Sensitivity analysis

19 Conclusions MCA makes the decision process more transparent; MCA makes the information better manageable; Definite is more than just one MCA technique; Definite is a large program with many options; The simple step menus and the structured approach prevent users from getting lost.