Experiments and an improved method for solving the discrete alternative multiple-criteria problem

A number of interactive methods that use convex cones for solving the discrete alternative multiple-criteria problem have appeared in the literature. Convex cones are used to identify inferior alternatives based on the previous responses of the decision-maker. The aim is to identify as many inferior alternatives as possible using the cones so that the decision-maker will be required to make as few pairwise comparisons as possible. In this study the authors make experiments to see the effects of a number of cone generators, the selection procedure of cone generators, and the order in which pairwise comparisons are made, on the total number of pairwise comparisons. They also develop an algorithm based on the results of the experiments. The present computational experience shows that the algorithm performs well compared with algorithms that require similar information input from the decision-maker.