A goal programming method for deriving fuzzy priorities of criteria from inconsistent fuzzy comparison matrices

Abstract

Decision making problem is the process of finding the best option from all of the feasible alternatives. One of the most important concepts in decision making process is to identify the weights of criteria. In real-world situation, because of incomplete or non-obtainable information, the data (attributes) are often not deterministic and can be treated in forms of fuzzy numbers. This paper investigates a method for deriving the weights of criteria from the pair-wise comparison matrix with fuzzy elements. Finding the weights of criteria has been one of the most important issues in the field of decision-making and the present method uses goal programming to solve the resulted model. In addition, using a ranking function we convert each obtained fuzzy weight to a crisp one, which makes it possible to compare the criteria. The proposed model of this paper is supported by several examples and a case study.

Keywords

• Triangular fuzzy number
• Fuzzy pair-wise comparison matrix
• Goal programming
• Ranking function