Sensitivity Analysis in the NAIADE Method

Abstract

In a constructive decision aid framework, there is a need for an elicitation process requiring precise information. This process means that the decisionmaker’s judgements are encoded by parameters p, the space of parameters being P. However, it may be difficult to elicit the information to build them exactly. Hence, two not necessarily mutually exclusive, cases arise [Rios Insua, 1990]:

• the decision-maker is not able to locate p precisely, but he may give some constraints on it (decision making under partial information);

• the decision-maker gives an estimate π of p, but, feeling doubtful about it, he asks for some help to identify which of his judgements are the critical ones in order to think about them more closely. In this case there is a need for sensitivity analysis.