Analytic Hierarchy Process

The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a general theory of measurement. It is used to derive ratio scales from both discrete and continuous paired comparisons in multilevel hierarchic structures. These comparisons may be taken from actual measurements or from a fundamental scale that reflects the relative strength of preferences and feelings. The AHP has a special concern with departure from consistency and the measurement of this departure, and with dependence within and between the groups of elements of its structure. It has found its widest applications in multicriteria decision making, in planning and resource allocation, and in conflict resolution (Saaty, 1990b; Saaty and Alexander, 1989). In its general form, the AHP is a nonlinear framework for carrying out both deductive and inductive thinking without use of the syllogism by taking several factors into consideration simultaneously and allowing for dependence and for feedback, and making numerical tradeoffs