An Interactive Computer Program for Assessing and Using Multiattribute Utility Functions

This report presents a computer package designed to facilitate the assessment and use of a decision maker's utility function for multiple objectives. The package provides routines for (1) specifying the decision maker's preferences over multiple criteria, (2) treating uncertainty in the consequences resulting from a decision, (3) ranking alternative courses of action in order of preference, and (4) studying the effects changes in preferences or uncertainty estimates may have upon the ranking of alternatives. The routines are designed to be applicable in a variety of problem contexts. The paper is organized as follows. The decision analysis approach which provides the theoretical basis for the program is summarized. This is followed by a description of existing methods for multiattribute utility function assessment and use. Then the computer package is presented and compared with the aforementioned methods. Applications of the package to several problems are illustrated and areas for future improvement and research are suggested.