Decision Support in the Source Selection Process

The complexity of federal acquisition is increasing. Our ability as humans to mentally assimilate new laws, regulations, policies, and procedures into the existing body of knowledge in the acquisition field has already been surpassed. This paper will explore an emerging technique, known as the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), that promises to help acquisition managers make rational decisions in the face of this increasing complexity. The advent of inexpensive microcomputers and powerful new decision support systems (DSS) make this possible. One such software product, Expert Choice, is examined and applied to a "typical 11 complex Defense Department decision—the task of selecting a source in competitive negotiations. Using Expert Choice, the author developed a DSS to "conduct 11 an hypothetical source selection. Selection criteria and alterna­ tive proposals were incorporated into the model, as were the judgments made by technical, cost, and management evaluation teams. The DSS synthesizes the judgments into a comprehensive ranking of the proposals and, perhaps most importantly, helps source selection team members communicate their findings to one another and to the Source Selection Authority. The advantages of using decision support systems to help both government and industry decision makers in a variety of complex decision scenarios are discussed.