2939. From Academia to Practice: Experiences and observations from four years of MCDA practice in Canada
Invited abstract in session TD-10: MCDA and urban planning 1, stream Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding.
Tuesday, 14:30-16:00Room: Clarendon SR 1.06
Authors (first author is the speaker)
| 1. | Francis Marleau Donais
|
| Département de génie de la construction, École de technologie supérieure |
Abstract
Multi-criteria decision-aiding methods (MCDA) are increasingly used in practice as they enable several, often conflicting, objectives to be considered in decision-making processes. However, developing an MCDA process is not an easy task. A decision analyst needs to be familiar with the characteristics of various MCDA methods, and to have facilitation skills. However, in the province of Quebec, Canada, there is a gap between best practices, coherent with the scientific literature, and the application of MCDA methods in the industry. Professionals using MCDA methods often lack comprehensive knowledge about these methods, and apply the them without knowing their limitations. Consequently, numerous missteps are made throughout the decision process, proposing solutions to ill-defined problems and leading, in some cases, to results that are challenged or rejected by decision-makers. These issues arise at all stages of a MCDA process, from problem structuring to model building. This talk will present briefly different case studies, based on four years of industry experience in different transportation projects. It will highlight the observed challenges in the application of MCDA methods.
Keywords
- Decision Analysis
- Behavioural OR
- Practice of OR
Status: accepted
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