What is Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

A process that transforms a complicated problem into a hierarchical structure.

A binary comparison decision making technique.

It is a multi-criteria decision making technique developed by Thomas Saaty.

A process that deals in a hierarchical structure a number of quantitative and qualitative criteria in one utility function.

AHP is a structured technique that is used for the organisation and analysis of multifaceted decisions, depending on the psychology and mathematics. It helps in the representation of the most precise approach for the quantification of weights of each criteria. Here, the experiences of each expert is used for the estimation of the relative scale of the parameters by using the method of pair-wise correlation. Each respondent is expected to strike a comparison between the relative importance of the two items in a questionnaire designed specially for this purpose.

AHP is a multicriteria model that provides a methodology for comparing alternatives by structuring criteria into a hierarchy, providing for pair-wise comparisons of criteria at the lowest level of the hierarchy to be entered by the user, and synthesizing the results into a single numerical value.

The mathematical foundations of AHP are described by Thomas Saaty in 1980. AHP is used to determine a ranking of the alternatives when all the decision criteria are considered simultaneously. AHP is based on three fundamental principles: pairwise comparison, decomposition, and synthesis. A hierarchy must be constructed to establish the relation between the goal, criteria, sub-criteria and alternatives.

A method developed by Thomas L. Saaty in 1970s. It provides a structure for organizing and analyzing complex decisions.

The AHP method of Saaty was proposed for calculating the weight coefficients of the significance of each factor (indicator) that takes part in the model with the help of experts. In our approach the AHP method is used in order to determine a gradient of the potential function.

It is a multi-criteria decision making technique developed by Thomas Saaty.