Mcdmgdss: a Group Decision Support System for Multicriterion Analysis

An integrated interactive menu driven software MCDMGDSS was developed to consider multicriterion analysis in group decision making environment. The capability of MCDMGDSS is demonstrated with the case study of Chaliyar river basin planning problem, Kerala, India to find the most suitable configuration of the reservoirs. Eight alternatives are analysed with respect to six noncommensurable discrete criteria. Three MCDM methods PROMETHEE-2, EXPROM-2 and Compromise Programming (CP) are employed. Group decision making concept is incorporated by considering the views of two experts. Analysis of the results indicated that same alternative is found to be the potential one by all the methods and by all the experts. INTRODUCTION Multicriterion Decision Making (MCDM) methods have demonstrated their immense versatility in solving many problems in physical plane marked by extensive nature of conflicts. The decision makers are often confronted not only with the task of classifying, analysing and arranging suitably the vast information concerning the system but also the choice and ranking of the optimal possibilities. These choice possibilities could be, among many, a number of alternative plans. Multicriterion decision support systems (MCDSS) are computer based systems that employ multiple criteria decision methods as part of the decision support system. Jelassi et al.(1984 ) explained the requirements of MCDSS as 1)an extensive data base 2) a portfolio of multiple criteria methods 3) user friendly interface. A number of multicriterion decision support techniques have emerged in recent years which use varying computational approaches to arrive at the most desirable solution and thereby 'recommend' a course of action. Design of water resources systems is becoming more and more complex due to a large number of factors which are tangible or intangible as well as qualitative and quantitative. In this scenario, planning the development of a river basin is not an easy task. This complexity necessitates the utilisation of Multicriterion Decision Making (MCDM) methods. The chosen one could be further analysed in depth for its final implementation. Several MCDM methods have been developed and applied to various case studies in river basin planning (Gershon and Duckstein, 1983). The present paper deals with the development of integrated interactive menu driven software MCDMGDSS (Multi Criterion Decision Making in Group Decision Support System) to consider multicriterion analysis in group decision making environment. The capability of MCDMGDSS is demonstrated with the case study of Chaliyar river basin planning problem, Kerala, India to find the most suitable configuration of the reservoirs. Eight alternative reservoir configurations are analysed to select the most suitable one with respect to six non-commensurable discrete criteria namely, Irrigation, Power production, Drinking water supply, Environmental quality, Flood protection and Benefits from the project. The three different Multicriterion Decision Making (MCDM) methods adopted in the present study are PROMETHEE-2, EXPROM-2 and Compromise Programming (CP). These MCDM methods are discussed in brief here but more details are available in Srinivasa Raju (1995). PROMETHEE-2 PROMETHEE-2 (Preference Ranking Organisation METHod of Enrichment Evaluation) is of out ranking nature. The method uses preference function P (a,b) which is a function of the difference d j j