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DEFINITEa DEcision support system for a FINITE set of alternatives

Marjan van Herwijnen Institute for Environmental Studies

Vrije Universiteit - Amsterdam

June 14, 2006

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Outline

• The DSS DEFINITE• Highway 73-South• A journey to Paris • Conclusions

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What type of problems does DEFINITE support?

• DEcisions on a FINITE set of alternatives• Decisions with multiple objectives • This type of problems are common in almost every

private or public decision context:– Choosing the means of transport to the office;– Selecting the best candidate for a job vacancy;– Constructing a new airport; and of course …– Selecting the best alternative to solve the problem

in the Vecht area.

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What does DEFINITE support?

Problemdefinition

Standardization

Weights

Ranking

Sensitivity analysis

Presentation

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What does DEFINITE support?

• From problem definition to report generation• This structure fits with the general decision

process;• The structured approach ensures that the

decisions arrived at are systematic and consistent;• Five case studies are included each showing a

specific topic of the system.

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What types of methods are incorporated in DEFINITE?

• Toolbox of methods:– Graphical methods to support representation,– Methods for weight assessment, – Multi-criteria methods,– Cost-benefit analysis,– Graphical evaluation methods,– Methods for sensitivity analysis on the results of

MCA and CBA.

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History of DEFINITE (1)

• Commissioned by the Ministry of Finance;• The first version, DEFINITE for MSDOS, appeared

in 1994;• A wide range of users:

– ministries, provinces, public bodies and a number of larger cities;

– consultancy and engineering firms;– universities and other schools of higher education

for teaching purposes.

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History of DEFINITE (2)

• The second edition, DEFINITE for Windows, appeared in 2001;

• Experiences of all previous users are included;• Better graphics are included;• New developments from the MCA field are

included;• Standard Windows structures are used.

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Highway 73-south

• Problem: An area has problems with its living environment, accessibility and economic growth.

• Question: What is the best way to solve these problems?

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Highway 73-south: Presentation of results

• Criteria tree;• Relative contribution of the criterion groups;• Ranking according to various perspectives;

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Demo DEFINITE

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A journey to Paris

• ‘Problem’: A couple wants to celebrate its 1st anniversary in Paris

• Question: What is the best way to travel?

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A journey to Paris: From problem definition to report generation

• Problem definition• Multi-criteria analysis• Sensitivity analysis

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Conclusions

• MCA makes the decision process more transparent;

• MCA makes the information better manageable;• Definite is more than just one MCA technique;• Definite is a large program with many options;• The simple step menus and the structured

approach prevent users from getting lost.