1 The Analytic Hierarchy Process

2 Overview of the AHP 1.Set up decision hierarchy 2.Make pairwise comparisons of attributes and alternatives 3.Transform comparisons into weights and check consistency 4.Use weights to obtain scores for options 5.Carry out sensitivity analysis

3 A hierarchy for the packaging machine problem

4 Scale for pairwise comparisons equally important (1) weakly more important(3) strongly more important(5) very strongly more important(7) extremely more important(9)

5 Comparing importance of costs and quality

6 Comparing importance of quality attributes

7 Comparing the machines for purchase cost

8 Weights for the packaging machine problem

9 Scores for the three machines Aztec0.255 Barton0.541 Congress0.204

10 Strengths of the AHP Formal structuring of the decision problem Simplicity of pairwise comparisons Redundancy allows consistency to be checked Versatilty

11 Criticisms of the ‘standard’ AHP Conversion from verbal to numeric scale Problems of 1 to 9 scale Meaningfulness of responses to questions New alternatives can reverse the rank of existing alternatives No. of comparisons required may be large Axioms of the method