Globally effective questioning in the Analytic Hierarchy Process

A drawback in the use of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is the effort required to complete all pairwise comparisons in large hierarchies. The incomplete pairwise comparison (IPC) technique developed by Harker (1987) aims at reducing this effort by ordering the questions in decreasing informational value and by stopping the process when added value of questions decreases below a certain level. Further opportunities for effort reduction through globally effective elicitation processes are proposed. A simple example demonstrates impressive savings in the number of comparisons that a decision maker is required to make when using the AHP for complex problems. The approach presented can greatly enhance the effectiveness and attractiveness of the AHP for complex decision-making problems with large hierarchies. The major benefits of the approach are a substantial reduction in the number of questions and better overall session management.