FUZZY HIERARCHICAL DECISION-MAKING (FHDM) - A METHODOLOGY FOR TECHNOLOGY CHOICE

In this paper, a brief review of the literature on technology choice i s presented, the necessity of applying fuzzy set theory to technology choice is discussed, and a brief review of the literature on fuzzy mul ticriteria decision making is given. An algorithm for the technology c hoice problem is proposed. This algorithm is based on the fuzzy set th eory and hierarchical structural analysis. In this method, experts are asked to give their opinions by pair-wise comparison of variables, in linguistic values (say Very High, High, Medium, Low and Very Low and so on). By aggregating the hierarchy, the preferential weight of each alternative is found, which is called fuzzy choice index, The fuzzy ch oice indices of various alternatives are ranked and preferential ranki ng order of alternatives are found. An hypothetical fuzzy technology c hoice problem is given here to demonstrate the algorithm. The proposed methodology will improve technology choices. The methodology can also be applied to any other multicriteria applications.