Optimal inconsistency repairing of pairwise comparison matrices using integrated linear programming and eigenvector methods

Abstract

Satisfying consistency requirements of pairwise comparison matrix (PCM) is a critical step in decision making methodologies. An algorithm has been proposed to find a new modified consistent PCM in which it can replace the original inconsistent PCM in analytic hierarchy process (AHP) or in fuzzy AHP. This paper defines the modified consistent PCM by the original inconsistent PCM and an adjustable consistent PCM combined. The algorithm adopts a segment tree to gradually approach the greatest lower bound of the distance with the original PCM to obtain the middle value of an adjustable PCM. It also proposes a theorem to obtain the lower value and the upper value of an adjustable PCM based on two constraints. The experiments for crisp elements show that the proposed approach can preserve more of the original information than previous works of the same consistent value. The convergence rate of our algorithm is significantly faster than previous works with respect to different parameters. The experiments for fuzzy elements show that our method could obtain suitable modified fuzzy PCMs. 2014 Haiqing Zhang et al.