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Thomas L. Saaty

Bio: Thomas L. Saaty is an academic researcher from University of Pittsburgh. The author has contributed to research in topics: Analytic hierarchy process & Analytic network process. The author has an hindex of 92, co-authored 375 publications receiving 95026 citations. Previous affiliations of Thomas L. Saaty include College of Business Administration & Politécnico Grancolombiano.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper summarizes the important issues that can play a role in rank preservation and reversal with counterexamples to show that preserving rank in all situations is wrong.

73 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article proposes that the Analytic Hierarchy Process (A.H.P.) provides a satisfactory means of generating a framework for hierarchical complexity of fuzziness as it can simultaneously cope with the intuitive, rational and irrational.
Abstract: A degree of “fuzziness” accompanies complex architectural problems. The concept of fuzziness can be compared to the hierarchy of the nervous system. Three types of fuzziness can be isolated: instantaneous, ongoing and long term. In this paper, the need for the development of a conceptually simple framework to analyse hierarchical complexity is recognised. Before such a framework can be developed, one should be aware of some of the associated problems, for example, that deductive thinking is not innate but learnt. This article proposes that the Analytic Hierarchy Process (A.H.P.) provides a satisfactory means of generating a framework for hierarchical complexity of fuzziness as it can simultaneously cope with the intuitive, rational and irrational. The Analytic Hierarchy Process is outlined and an example of its possible application supplied.

70 citations

OtherDOI
29 Sep 2014
TL;DR: The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) as mentioned in this paper is a theory of relative measurement of intangible criteria, where a scale of priorities is derived from pairwise comparison measurements only after the elements to be measured are known.
Abstract: The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a theory of relative measurement of intangible criteria. With this approach to relative measurement, a scale of priorities is derived from pairwise comparison measurements only after the elements to be measured are known. The ability to do pairwise comparisons is our biological heritage and we need it to cope with a world where everything is relative and constantly changing and thus, there are no fixed standards to measure things on. In traditional measurement, one has a scale that one applies to measure any element that comes along that has the property the scale is for, and the elements are measured one by one, not by comparing them with each other. In the AHP, paired comparisons are made with judgments using numerical values taken from the AHP absolute fundamental scale of 1 to 9. A scale of relative values is derived from all these paired comparisons and it also belongs to an absolute scale that is invariant under the identity transformation like the system of real numbers. The AHP is useful for making multicriteria decisions involving benefits, opportunities, costs, and risks. The ideas are developed in stages and illustrated with examples of real-life decisions. The subject is transparent and easy to understand why it is done the way it is along the lines discussed here. The AHP has a generalization to dependence and feedback; the Analytic Network Process (ANP) is not discussed here. Keywords: analytic hierarchy process; decision making; prioritization; benefits; costs; complexity

68 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown with an application from economics that the judgment process can be sufficiently accurate to produce numerical outcomes that are close to what one obtains by conventional methods, thus serving to validate its use in the measurement of intangibles when informed people are involved.
Abstract: Tangibles have measurements generally on ratio scales with arbitrary units that are always interpreted by using judgments as to what particular purpose the measurements serve. How two measurements on a ratio scale are related with respect to dominance leads to forming their ratio which is a dimensionless number. The judgment of an expert can be used to estimate this ratio when the objects are homogeneous. The process of using judgments to make comparisons is then extended by clustering and using pivots to measure inhomogeneous objects or criteria. The paper shows the generality of the analytic network process (AHP) as a method of measurement comparing it with direct measurement and with the utility approach through an example. It is also shown with an application from economics that the judgment process can be sufficiently accurate to produce numerical outcomes that are close to what one obtains by conventional methods, thus serving to validate its use in the measurement of intangibles when informed people are involved.

68 citations

Proceedings ArticleDOI
01 Aug 2001
TL;DR: It is demonstrated how the integers 1 to 9 used in the Fundamental Scale of the AHP to represent pairwise comparison judgments can be derived from stimulus-response theory.
Abstract: Summary: We demonstrate how the integers 1 to 9 used in the Fundamental Scale of the AHP to represent pairwise comparison judgments can be derived from stimulus-response theory. The conditions required for the stability of the eigenvector of priorities, known from the mathematics literature, are briefly mentioned. These conditions require that the elements being compared be homogeneous. This limits the upper value of the scale to 9. They also require that the number of elements compared be small. It is widely known that both of these conditions are intrinsic to the way in which our brains actually operate. A brief discussion is given about two ways to deal with a large number of elements, both included in the AHP protocol.

67 citations


Cited by
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Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1985
TL;DR: Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) as mentioned in this paper is a systematic procedure for representing the elements of any problem hierarchically, which organizes the basic rationality by breaking down a problem into its smaller constituent parts and then guides decision makers through a series of pairwise comparison judgments to express the relative strength or intensity of impact of the elements in the hierarchy.
Abstract: This chapter provides an overview of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is a systematic procedure for representing the elements of any problem hierarchically. It organizes the basic rationality by breaking down a problem into its smaller constituent parts and then guides decision makers through a series of pair-wise comparison judgments to express the relative strength or intensity of impact of the elements in the hierarchy. These judgments are then translated to numbers. The AHP includes procedures and principles used to synthesize the many judgments to derive priorities among criteria and subsequently for alternative solutions. It is useful to note that the numbers thus obtained are ratio scale estimates and correspond to so-called hard numbers. Problem solving is a process of setting priorities in steps. One step decides on the most important elements of a problem, another on how best to repair, replace, test, and evaluate the elements, and another on how to implement the solution and measure performance.

16,547 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A method of scaling ratios using the principal eigenvector of a positive pairwise comparison matrix is investigated, showing that λmax = n is a necessary and sufficient condition for consistency.

8,117 citations

Book
31 Jul 1985
TL;DR: The book updates the research agenda with chapters on possibility theory, fuzzy logic and approximate reasoning, expert systems, fuzzy control, fuzzy data analysis, decision making and fuzzy set models in operations research.
Abstract: Fuzzy Set Theory - And Its Applications, Third Edition is a textbook for courses in fuzzy set theory. It can also be used as an introduction to the subject. The character of a textbook is balanced with the dynamic nature of the research in the field by including many useful references to develop a deeper understanding among interested readers. The book updates the research agenda (which has witnessed profound and startling advances since its inception some 30 years ago) with chapters on possibility theory, fuzzy logic and approximate reasoning, expert systems, fuzzy control, fuzzy data analysis, decision making and fuzzy set models in operations research. All chapters have been updated. Exercises are included.

7,877 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
06 Jun 1986-JAMA
TL;DR: The editors have done a masterful job of weaving together the biologic, the behavioral, and the clinical sciences into a single tapestry in which everyone from the molecular biologist to the practicing psychiatrist can find and appreciate his or her own research.
Abstract: I have developed "tennis elbow" from lugging this book around the past four weeks, but it is worth the pain, the effort, and the aspirin. It is also worth the (relatively speaking) bargain price. Including appendixes, this book contains 894 pages of text. The entire panorama of the neural sciences is surveyed and examined, and it is comprehensive in its scope, from genomes to social behaviors. The editors explicitly state that the book is designed as "an introductory text for students of biology, behavior, and medicine," but it is hard to imagine any audience, interested in any fragment of neuroscience at any level of sophistication, that would not enjoy this book. The editors have done a masterful job of weaving together the biologic, the behavioral, and the clinical sciences into a single tapestry in which everyone from the molecular biologist to the practicing psychiatrist can find and appreciate his or

7,563 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) as discussed by the authors is a multicriteria decision-making approach in which factors are arranged in a hierarchic structure, and the principles and philosophy of the theory are summarized giving general background information of the type of measurement utilized, its properties and applications.

7,202 citations