On the efficacy of modeling multi-attribute decision problems using analytic hierarchy process and Sinarchy

The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is a multi-attribute decision-making methodology widely used by both practitioners and researchers. In the 1980s, critics had raised questions regarding its proper use. There were quite a few suggested modifications to overcome the supposed limitations of AHP. These modifications are themselves limited as they typically impede the applicability of AHP. In this paper, we revisit some of the earlier criticisms. We have two objectives (1) to articulate the proper use of AHP by highlighting the assumptions and implications underlying AHP, and (2) to show that Sinarchy can be used to address the earlier criticisms while maintaining the applicability of the AHP framework. We identify that in AHP, tradeoffs between criteria vary amongst individual alternatives and are dependent on the alternative's proportion of contribution towards each criterion. For problems where tradeoffs between criteria are in terms of their relative measurements, Sinarchy should be used. It is also shown that Sinarchy can prevent rank reversal. Illustrative examples are included throughout.