A prioritization approach based on VFT and AHP for group decision making: a case study in the military operations

Paper Aims: This paper aims to develop an approach to support group decision making combining methods and tools to a holistic MCDA process. Originality : Authors have been using Value-Focused Thinking (VFT) for structuring problems with different MCDA methods, but there is a lack of a process that defines a clear transition from VFT to those methods. Here we propose a process to fill this gap. Research method : Rich Picture and VFT structure the problem and elicit objectives that become criteria within a decision hierarchy. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with ratings supports preference elicitation and sensitivity analysis in the judgment weights of decision-makers. Main findings : VFT is effective for eliciting the decision structure to AHP; using weight distribution of stakeholders may affect the results, and the multimethodology approach developed here can deal with group decision making. Implications for theory and practice : The approach developed is effective in complex environments (complex problems and multiple stakeholders) because it focuses on values and defines a process to bring those values into a multicriteria method. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis with the judgment weights of the different stakeholders may be useful in negotiation.