New optimization based method for estimating priority weights

Abstract

The estimation of priority vectors from pairwise comparison matrices is a core of the Analytic Hierarchy Process. Perhaps the most popular approach for deriving the priority weights is the right eigenvalue method (EM). Despite its popularity, various shortcomings of the EM have been described in literature. In this paper a new method for deriving priority vectors is proposed. This method makes use of the idea underlying the EM but in difference to the latter, the new one is optimization based. Important features of this new technique are studied via computer simulations and illustrated by some numerical examples.