engleski

Characteristics of the Analytitc Network Process, a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Method

The analytic network process (ANP) is one of the most complex multi-criteria decision-making methods. It was developed by Professor Thomas Saaty, who also created the analytic hierarchy process. In the network, we model the dependencies and influences between decision- making elements. A network contains much more information on the decision-making problem than the hierarchy does. By applying the ANP, we, therefore, obtain more accurate results (the decision). As identified in the literature, the main disadvantage of the ANP is the duration of the implementation process, which is correlated with a large number of pairwise comparisons that need to be implemented. This disadvantage is decreased through different integrations of the ANP method with other methods, such as the decision making trial and evaluation laboratory approach and interpretive structural modelling. In this study, we focus on the three characteristics of the ANP, which are (1) the inseparability of criteria and alternatives, (2) the influence of the goal node on the priorities in the decision-making problem and (3) the stochasticity of the supermatrix in the ANP method. The inseparability of criteria and alternatives means that the ANP is not designed to be used for determining only criteria weights, without inputting the alternatives into the model (which can be a real-case request). If we create a network that consists only of criteria, some of the criteria can possibly weigh 0.0 if the related supermatrix is reducible. A reducible matrix means that the related graph is weakly connected—at least two nodes have no directed path between them. The influence of the goal node on the priorities implies that in most decision-making problems, which consist of one goal node, the priorities derived from the comparisons of the elements with respect to the goal do not influence the final priorities of the decision-making elements. If we delete the goal node, we get the same priorities as if the goal node is present in the model. Finally, the stochasticity of the supermatrix is related to the method request that the sum of all columns in the supermatrix has to be equal to 1. This request relativizes the decision-making problem ; the ANP often does not handle the strengths of the influences (dependencies) between criteria (ANP uses the same supermatrix for many decision-making problems). All these three characteristics are theoretically analyzed in depth and demonstrated through examples. The paper concludes with proposals on how the ANP can be used with respect to these three characteristics.

analytic network process ; ANP ; stochasticity ; supermatrix ; reducibility

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