Software design and development by: Luis Dias
The VIP (Variable Interdependent Parameters) Analysis software has been built to support the selection of the most preferred alternative among a list, considering the impacts of each alternative on multiple evaluation criteria. It is based on an additive aggregation model (value function), accepting imprecise information on the value of the scaling coefficients (a.k.a. scaling constants, which indirectly reflect the relative importance of the each criterion).
Rather than precise values, the scaling coefficients are considered Variable Interdependent Parameters subject to a set of constraints (e.g. bounds, order relations, or any linear constraints). This amounts to consider multiple acceptable combinations of values for these parameters, which is particularly relevant in spite of the simplicity of the model. Indeed, fixing precise values for the scaling constants is often difficult because these values reflect the judgments of the decision makers, which may evolve through time and may be hard to elicit in a precise way. The number of (arbitrary) options in the process of building the criteria plus the possibility of divergence among several decision makers may further hinder the requirement of precise numerical figures.
The VIP Analysis software offers its users an easy to use tool to analyze a choice problem using multiple approaches at several levels of detail, when imprecise information is accepted. It computes the best and worst overall value that each alternative may attain (given the multiple acceptable inputs), the pairwise confrontation table (differences of global value between pairs of alternatives) - which allows to discover dominated or quasi-dominated alternatives -, as well as the maximum loss of opportunity associated with choosing each alternative, plus the domain where each alternative is optimal or quasi-optimal (if the problem dimension allows it).
This research project has been partially financed by the FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) grants PRAXIS/PCSH/P/CEG/28/96 (co-financed by EC's Second Framework Programme 1994/99) and POSI/SRI/37346/2001 (co-financed by EC's Third Framework Programme 2000/2006).
VIP Analysis has been requested by over a hundred users from several countries, besides Portugal: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belguim, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China & Taiwan, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Rep., Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Italia, Japan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maroc, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Rumania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, UK, USA, Venezuela and Vietnam.
VIP Analysis is distributed for free. Interested persons may send me an e-mail requesting the software, indicating their name, their institutional affiliation and type of activity, address, and the reason for the interest in the software. Request VIP Analysis
Reference:
Dias, L. C. and J. N. Clímaco, "Additive Aggregation with Variable Interdependent Parameters: the VIP Analysis Software", Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol. 51, No. 9, pp. 1070-1082, 2000.
Luis M. C. Dias - Software page
