Priority Setting in Complex Problems

Abstract

There are three principles which one can recognize in problem solving. They are the principles of decomposition, comparative judgments and synthesis of priorities. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) provides a comprehensive framework to cope with the intuitive, the rational, and the irrational in us all at the same time when we make decisions. It is a method we can use to integrate our perceptions and purposes into an overall synthesis. The AHP does not require that judgments be consistent or even transitive. The degree of consistency (or inconsistency) of the judgments is revealed at the end of the AHP process. The 48 page paper given at the meeting has been reduced to bare essentials to fit in the pages allotted here.