MCDA methods in decision making

Abstract

Decision making is one of the most important parts of any aspect of life. It affects the present and both immediate and long-term future. Of course, it has a huge impact on every project, naturally including engineering projects. There is a vast number of techniques and methods to help one to come up with a final decision. In this article, the focus is the MCDA analysis in decision makin. In decision making, there are different tools or criteria, such as Cost - Benefit Analysis (CBA) or the Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). On one hand, CBA focus on the quantitative part of the project in order to reach a decision, specially focusing on monetary terms, currency change and various rates, such as inflation or consumer surplus. On the other hand, MCDA involves many other criteria, mostly qualitative, in order to reach a decision. Within MCDA, naturally, there are different techniques to use, the two main ones are AHP and Smart. As mentioned previously, the focus of this paper will be the MCDA methods in decision making. Initially, there will be an introduction on the history of the decision making and where the term comes from. Sequentially, there will be an explanation on both CBA and MCDA to reach a full understanding for both tools and comparing them. After this section, there will be a deeper explanation on the MCDA analysis, explaining the different types of MCDA and providing examples, pros and cons. Finally there will be a conclusion on the involvement of MCDA analysis and methods in the decision making, focusing on engineering projects.