Multi-criteria group decision making procedure under incomplete information and application to conflict resolution in knowledge-based system

Abstract

This paper deals with multiple criteria decision making problem with incomplete information when multiple decision makers (Multiple Criteria Group Decision Making : MCGDM) are involved. Usually decision makers (DMs) are willing or able to provide only incomplete information, because of time pressure, lack of knowledge or data, and their limited expertise related with problem domain. There have been just a few studies considering incomplete information in group settings. This incompletely specified information constructs region of linear constraints and therefore, pairwise dominance relationship between alternatives reduces to intractable nonlinear programs. Hence, to handle this difficulty, we suggest a method utilizing individual decision results to form group consensus. Final group consensus ranking toward more agreement of participants can be built through solving a series of linear programmings, using individual decision results under group members`` possibly different weight constraints. The aggregation process can be depicted in dominance graph for better understanding of decision making results and further interaction. As an application area of prescriptive decision making under incomplete information, we consider decision theoretic methodology considered in this thesis for resolving conflict occurring during matching process in rule-based expert system. Techniques from decision analysis and artificial intelligence have both been extensively used in the development of computerized decision aids, although each discipline uses different approaches in knowledge acquisition, representation, and problem solving methodology. From the perspective of many types of practical decision aiding applications, both normative decision aids and expert system technology have significant limitations. Many research efforts have been exerted toward complementing the one*s deficiency with the other``s possible techniques or vice versa. In this paper, among many possible com...