Some tests of analytical multiobjective decision-making methods

Many analytical methods have been developed for multiobjective decision problems. All attempt to achieve the same goal. This paper reports on tests of five decision rules and seven weighting methods applied by three different panels to determine whether or not they produce different results and to infer, where possible, the nature and origin of the differences.Different methods do produce different results. Lacking a definition of “goodness,” however, it is not clear how much these differences matter. Nevertheless, some methods have obvious problems, either in theoretical validity or in application, and they should be avoided.