Eliciting ELECTRE TRI category limits for a group of decision makers

Olivier Cailloux (1) , Patrick Meyer (2, 3) , Vincent Mousseau (1)

1 LGI - Laboratoire Génie Industriel - EA 2606
2 Lab-STICC_TB_CID_DECIDE
3 LUSSI - Département Logique des Usages, Sciences sociales et Sciences de l'Information

Multiple criteria sorting aims at assigning alternatives evaluated on several criteria to predefined ordered categories. In this paper, we consider a well known multiple criteria sorting method, ELECTRE TRI, which involves three types of preference parameters: (1) category limits defining the frontiers between consecutive categories, (2) weights and majority level specifying which coalitions form a majority, and (3) veto thresholds characterizing discordance effects. We propose an elicitation procedure to infer category limits from assignment examples provided by multiple decision makers. The procedure computes a set of category limits and vetoes common to all decision makers, with variable weights for each decision maker. Hence, the method helps reaching a consensus among decision makers on the category limits and veto thresholds, whereas finding a consensus on weights is left aside. The inference procedure is based on mixed integer linear programming and performs well even for datasets corresponding to real-world decision problems. We provide an illustrative example of the use of the method and analyze the performance of the proposed algorithms.

Mots clés: Multiple criteria analysis; Sorting methods; Preference elicitation; Multiple decision makers

Domaines: Ordinateur et société [cs.CY]

Olivier Cailloux, Patrick Meyer, Vincent Mousseau. Eliciting ELECTRE TRI category limits for a group of decision makers. European Journal of Operational Research, 2012, 233 (1), pp.133 - 140. ⟨10.1016/j.ejor.2012.05.032⟩. ⟨hal-00739582⟩