Ontology-based facilitation support tool for group decision making

Abstract

The need for Group Decision Making (GDM) techniques and support is greater than ever before. In the group decision making process, the alternatives amongst which a decision must be made can range from a few to a few thousand; the facilitator (or the decision makers) need(s) to narrow the possibilities down to a reasonable number, and categorize and classify alternatives. Even when this is not the case, facilitation support, such as ontology-based frameworks potentially offer these capabilities and can assist the decision-maker in presenting the alternatives in a form that facilitates the decision. In this research an ontology base approach is developed to facilitate organizing alternatives. The resulting alternatives organizing tool is based on two ontologies. These two ontologies are supplementary and each one ensures an aspect of the decision organizing. They have been built using the Web Ontology Language (OWL) which facilitates the sharing and integration of decision-making information between multiple decision makers.