CE 22

Engineering Economy
Lecture 9

Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making

Multi-Attributed Decision Making
CE 22 – Engineering Economy

Marjorie C. Turiano
Assistant Professor
Institute of Civil Engineering
College of Engineering
University of the Philippines Diliman
 Multi-attributed Decisions
• Decision making includes both monetary and nonmonetary
considerations (attributes).

Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making

• Value (as conceived by Aristotle in 350 B.C.) includes:
(1) economic (2) moral (3) aesthetic (4) social
(5) political (6) religious (7) judicial
CE 22 – Engineering Economy

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester 2

 Choice of Attributes
• Each attribute distinguishes at least two alternatives
• Each attribute captures a unique dimension or facet of the
decision problem (i.e. attributes are independent and

Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making

nonredundant)
• Attributes, in a collective sense, are assumed to be sufficient for
the purpose of selecting the best alternative
CE 22 – Engineering Economy

• Differences in values assigned to each attribute are presumed

to be meaningful in distinguishing among feasible alternatives

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester 3

 Dimensionality of the Problem
• Compensatory models – collapses all information into a single
dimension – changes in the values of a particular attribute can
be offset, or traded off against, opposing changes in another
attribute

Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making

• Noncompensatory models – retain the individuality of the
CE 22 – Engineering Economy

attributes as the best alternative is being determined – full

dimensional analysis – trade-offs among attributes are not
permitted

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester 4

 Noncompensatory Models
• Dominance
• Satisficing
• Disjunctive Resolution

Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making

• Lexicography
CE 22 – Engineering Economy

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester 5

 Noncompensatory Models
• Dominance – screening method for eliminating inferior
alternatives
• Satisficing – method of feasible ranges – establishes minimum

Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making

or maximum acceptable values (the standard) for each attribute
• Disjunctive Resolution – similar to satisficing, except this
method evaluates each alternative on the “best” value achieved
CE 22 – Engineering Economy

for any attribute

• Lexicography – especially suitable for decisions in which a
single attribute is judged more important than all other attributes

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester 6

 Example 1
Mary Jones has to select a dentist for a long overdue dental work.
After calling many dentists she found through online Web sites, Mary
finds that there are only four who are accepting new patients. They are
Dr. Molar, Dr. Feelgood, Dr. Whoops, and Dr. Pepper. The alternatives
are clear to Mary, and she decides that her objectives in selecting a

Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making

dentist are to obtain high-quality dental care at a reasonable cost with
minimum disruption to her schedule and little (or no) pain involved. In
this regard, Mary adopts these attributes to assist in gathering data
CE 22 – Engineering Economy

and making her final choice: (1) reputation of the dentist, (2) cost per
hour of dental work, (3) available office hours each week, (4) travel
distance, and (5) method of anesthesia. Notice that these attributes
are more or less independent in that the value of one attribute cannot
be predicted by knowing the value of any other attribute.
A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester 7
 Example 1
Mary collects data by interviewing the receptionist in each dental
office, talking with local townspeople, calling the Georgia Dental
Association, and soon. A summary of information gathered by Mary is
presented in the table. We are now asked to determine whether a

Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making

dentist can be selected by using (a) dominance, (b) satisficing, (c)
disjunctive resolution, and (d) lexicography
CE 22 – Engineering Economy

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester 8

 Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making
9
Example 1

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester

CE 22 – Engineering Economy
 Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making
10
Example 1

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester

CE 22 – Engineering Economy
 Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making
11
Example 1

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester

CE 22 – Engineering Economy
 Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making
12
Example 1

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester

CE 22 – Engineering Economy
 Compensatory Models
• Basic principle behind all compensatory models, which involve
a single dimension, is that values for all attributes must be
converted to a common measurement scale such as dollars or
utiles.

Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making

• A utile is a dimensionless unit of worth.
CE 22 – Engineering Economy

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester 13

 Compensatory Models
• Nondimensional Scaling
• Additive Weighting Technique

Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making

CE 22 – Engineering Economy

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester 14

 Compensatory Models
Nondimensional Scaling
• Standardize attribute values by converting them to
nondimensional form

Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making

• Nondimensional values should all have a common range (i.e. 0 to 1 or
0 to 100)
• All attributes should follow the same trend (i.e. most preferred should
CE 22 – Engineering Economy

have smallest nondimensional value)

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester 15

 Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making
16
Example 1

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester

CE 22 – Engineering Economy
 Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making
17
Example 1

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester

CE 22 – Engineering Economy
 Compensatory Models
Additive Weighting Technique
• Provides for the direct use of nondimensional attributes and the
results of the ordinal rankings of attributes

Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making

• Involves developing weights for attributes (based on ordinal
rankings) that can be multiplied by the appropriate
nondimensional attribute values to produce a partial
CE 22 – Engineering Economy

contribution to the overall score for a particular alternative

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester 18

 Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making
19
Example 1

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester

CE 22 – Engineering Economy
 References
• Sullivan, William G. Engineering Economy. Pearson
Education, 16th ed.

Lecture 9 – Multi-Attributed Decision Making

CE 22 – Engineering Economy

A.Y. 2018-2019, Second Semester 20