New Decision Matrix Based Approach for Concept Selection Using Linear Physical Programming

Decision matrix based methods are perhaps the most popular concept selection approaches used in industry. Although potentially effective and simple to use, they are not without drawbacks. The weighted sum approach that these methods are based on presents serious risks, because it can falsely portray some concepts as being undesirable when in reality they may even be the most desirable. Additionally, the typical decision matrix construction requires that the decision maker specify physically meaningless weights and ratings in order to calculate the total scores of the concepts. This paper examines the drawbacks of the typical decision matrix construction, as well as the limitations of possible alternatives. In this paper, Linear Physical Programming (LPP) is proposed as an alternative to the typical construction of the decision matrix. The use of LPP overcomes the main drawbacks of this typical construction. A synopsis of LPP is presented, and a procedure to use it in concept selection is developed. Concept selection examples are provided that demonstrate the effectiveness of the LPP based approach for concept selection.