Multiple Criteria Decision Support in Engineering Design

Multiple Criteria Decision Support in Engineering Design examines some of the underlying issues and related modelling strategies, with a view to exploring the rich potential of a generalised multiple-criteria approach to design decision-making. The arguments are supported by numerical examples. It can be argued that, within the classic monocriterion paradigm, the optimal solution is inarguably identified once the feasible alternatives are established and an objective function agreed on. It is only when conflict resolution is involved that decision-making truly becomes important, and many design situations exist where stated functional requirements may be in actual or potential conflict. The most preferred solution under such circumstances depends on the designer's or decision-maker's priorities, so that the chosen solution is based on a combination of technical possibilities and designer preferences. This book addresses the key concepts in multiple criteria decision-making and provides valuable insight into how such problems arise and can be solved, in the area of decision-making in general and in the domain of engineering design in particular.