Multiple criteria decision aid
Multiple criteria decision aid helps people – such as business managers and public administrators – to make better-informed decisions.
It's a rich and varied field of research, which spans a host of potential applications and a diverse array of methods. Multiple criteria decision aid techniques are especially valuable for approaching complex problems with conflicting criteria and/or uncertain or missing data.
These methods can be applied in any field in which decisions are taken, and our specialist academics have contributed to projects focused on reducing the costs of wind farm operations, improving the effectiveness of maritime security, and many more.
Thanks to our research, governments, policy makers and companies can take better decisions on complex matters, and justify them every time.
Our research covers the following topics
- Analytic hierarchy process (AHP)
- Outranking methods
- Data envelopment analysis (DEA)
- Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM)
- Multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT)
- Multi-objective optimisation (MOO)
- Rule-based approach
- Group decisions
- Decision modelling
- Interactive methods
- Decision support system (DSS)
Methods and facilities
Our work uses mainly quantitative research techniques, as our methods rely on data. The exception is when we're structuring a problem, as qualitative techniques are more appropriate for this.
Specialist facilities available for our research at Portsmouth include a decision lab with a suit of dedicated software.
Partnerships and funders
To test the validity of the new decision techniques we develop, we collaborate with a large number of local and international organisations.
We've received millions in research funding from organisations including the EU and from a range of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. Recent funding includes an award of €242,429 for the EU's Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS).
Projects and publications
Findings from our research are published in a range of journals, including European Journal of Operational Research, OMEGA, Expert Systems with Applications, International Journal of Production Research, International Journal of Production Economics, and Journal of the Operational Research Society.
Project highlights
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The Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST) project
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Circular models Leveraging Investments in Cultural heritage adaptive reuse (CLIC) project
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Determining optimal port choices to support offshore windfarms
Using a multiple criteria decision aid approach, as part of the LEANWIND (Logistic Efficiencies And Naval architecture for Wind Installations with Novel Developments) project
Discover our areas of expertise
Research groups
Interested in a PhD in Operational Research & Logistics?
Browse our postgraduate research degrees – including PhDs and MPhils – at our Operational Research & Logistics postgraduate research degrees page.