ABSTRACT Facility location-related decision problems pose a significant challenge for managers due to the multiple and conflicting factors involved. Moreover, incorrect decisions can lead to substantial impacts on companies' long-term strategic planning, resulting in losses for the business. This paper deals with a facility location problem in the educational sector in the northeast region of Brazil, which concerns the definition of the best location to place a private sector technical school, considering multiple objectives throughout a multicriteria approach. The decision-making process is structured based on a 9-step multicriteria model, and the preference elicitation phase is aided by the Flexible and Interactive Tradeoff (FITradeoff) method, using partial information provided by the decision-maker (DM). In the application presented in this paper, preference modeling is conducted considering the combination of two preference elicitation paradigms in the FITradeoff decision process: elicitation by decomposition and holistic evaluations, throughout a flexible approach. The DM’s preferences are elicited interactively, by means of a Decision Support System (DSS). At each interaction, the information given by the DM acts as constraints for a linear programming problem (LPP) model, which is computed in order to verify the potential optimality of each alternative. At the end of the elicitation process, a sensitivity analysis is performed so as to verify the robustness of the results obtained. Insights on the preference modeling paradigms combination with potential advantages for the decision process are also discussed in this paper. locationrelated related involved Moreover companies longterm long term planning business Brazil school approach decisionmaking making 9step step 9 model (FITradeoff method decisionmaker maker DM. . (DM) evaluations DMs s interactively DSS. DSS (DSS) interaction LPP (LPP alternative obtained (DM (DSS

ABSTRACT Public bidding is a Brazilian subject of great importance, being subject to control by the federal audit court, to prevent deviations and corruption. Even national legislation has undergone recent changes to make the use of this instrument more effective. In the public aspect, the bidding process goes through the determination of the need, the publication process, the choice, the contracting, and the post-contract period. Since some of the bidding modalities are exclusively based in “lowest price” and prevent the direct use of MCDA selecting the alternatives, this paper proposes using a combined approach, using MCDA and cognitive maps, to help in the determination of the bidding object. This approach is applied to a hypothetical situation, and the case study shows the convenience of its practical use in a real situation. The specific case is related to structural covering, using NBR15575 as a criteria definition subsidy. The study shows a contribution of cognitive maps to express the rationale according to legal principles and providing elements of the MCDA model. While FITradeoff supports the definition of the object, which is fundamental to avoid failures in the contracting process. The recent FITradeoff web version is used and the advantage of using the method is the reduction of decision-maker biases, increasing the transparency of the process. importance court corruption effective aspect need choice postcontract post contract period lowest price alternatives object situation covering NBR NBR1557 subsidy model decisionmaker decision maker biases NBR155 NBR15 NBR1

ABSTRACT The Flexible and Interactive Tradeoff (FITradeoff) multicriteria method was developed under the scope of the Multiattribute Value Theory (MAVT) to elicit preferences under a partial information perspective. The flexibility of this method has been recently enhanced by the combination of two paradigms of preference modeling in the decision process, namely elicitation by decomposition (ED) and holistic evaluation (HE), improving the preferences elicitation task in a sense that fewer elicitation questions are expected to be answered by the Decision Maker (DM) to find a recommendation for the multicriteria decision making (MCDM) problem. The combination of two preference modelling paradigms in FITradeoff is an innovative characteristic on MCDM methods which deserves further analysis on its implications for the practice of decision making, not yet investigated in previous works. Considering that, this work aims to evaluate the impact of conducting HE in FITradeoff in terms of the expected reduction of the number of questions (NQ) that shall be answered to obtain the problem results. To do so, a simulation study has been carried out, in which multiple criteria problems have been generated and solved by simulating different preferences profiles. Hypotheses on the reduction of the number of questions were formulated and tested for identifying the actual effect of two different types of HE in the elicitation process: selection of the best alternative and elimination of the worst alternative considering a previously defined subset. Besides, we also analyze the relationship between the HE effects and important variables of MCDM problems such as number of criteria (NC), number of alternatives (NA), and weights distribution patterns (WD). The results obtained show that holistic evaluation judgments have a significant impact on the reduction of effort made by the DM in the elicitation process, in a sense that the total number of questions reduces in a significant manner, considering either selection tasks or elimination tasks in HE. (FITradeoff MAVT (MAVT perspective process ED (ED HE, , (HE) (DM (MCDM works NQ (NQ so out profiles subset Besides NC, NC (NC) NA, NA (NA) WD. WD . (WD) manner (HE (NC (NA (WD

ABSTRACT This paper presents the problem of the prioritization of cultural tourism products (CTP) in Czeladź, one of the post-industrial towns in southern Poland. For the decision analysis, the new flexibility features of the FITradeoff multiple criteria method will be explored. In particular, this paper focuses on the combination of two preference modeling paradigms in the decision process: elicitation by decomposition, in the consequences space; and holistic evaluation, in the alternatives space. The FITradeoff method is a multiple criteria decision method for preferences elicitation in additive aggregation models, that works based on partial information about the decision maker’s preferences. The new decision process with the FITradeoff Decision Support System (DSS) will be explored and discussed in detail. The advantages of combination of two types of preference modeling are highlighted, with the possibility of shortening the decision problem with holistic judgments made based on graphical visualizations, saving time and effort from decision makers. CTP (CTP Czeladź postindustrial post industrial Poland analysis particular decomposition space evaluation models makers maker s DSS (DSS detail highlighted visualizations

ABSTRACT This paper presents an actual application of the FITradeoff method to support strategic decisions on military budgets. Using Optimization Techniques and a particular Multicriteria Decision Aid method to assess budget allocation efficiency, a model was built for the Brazilian Defense Ministry. A case study of the Brazilian Navy is described in this paper, whereby this model was used. The focus is on the adaptations of FITradeoff necessary to make it suitable for different groups of decision-makers and staff, performing different tasks on the process. The FITradeoff proposal allowed a group decision with different levels suitable to the military context and high-level strategic decisions. The use of multicriteria in this approach provides a meaningful utility measure. This provides a score value representing the desirability of an alternative, in terms of its attainment of the institution’s strategic objectives. The approach contributed to an approximate gain of 15% in budget efficiency in 2022. budgets Ministry used decisionmakers makers staff process highlevel high level measure alternative institutions institution s objectives 15 2022 1 202 20 2

ABSTRACT Since most of the studies about outsourcing are focused on mathematical models, this paper seeks to support from theoretical bases the use of partial information to ease the decision-making process; the practical contribution is to apply the FITradeoff method for solving a multicriteria problem of an agricultural research company that seeks to decide about the need to outsource the operation in case to overhead the limited capacity of the analysis services. After the FITradeoff method was applied to elicit preferences from each decision-maker (DM), the results show whether or not it would be feasible to outsource a given service, and what the most promising options are. The method required the DMs to answer in less time only a few questions, which avoided placing an unnecessary cognitive burden on them and proved to be useful in assisting DMs in the decision-making. models decisionmaking decision making process services decisionmaker maker DM, DM , (DM) service questions decisionmaking. making. (DM

ABSTRACT This paper presents a broad overview of main contributions related to the FITradeoff (Flexible and Interactive Tradeoff) method. FITradeoff is a multicriteria method developed within the scope of the Multiattribute Value Theory (MAVT), considering partial information from the decision maker (DM) in the preference modelling process. Over the last few years, several methodological developments on this method have been published in the literature, as well as practical applications to a wide range of multicriteria decision problems. The most recent methodological advances are related to preference modelling process, which now integrate the two paradigms of elicitation by decomposition and holistic evaluation. Furthermore, contributions from behavioral studies, some of them including decision neuroscience, have enhanced the DSS free available for FITradeoff. In this paper, all previously developed works related to the FITradeoff method are approached, considering both methodological developments and practical applications. A summary on the different modeling approaches for solving different decision problematics (choice, ranking, sorting and portfolio) with FITradeoff is presented. The recently proposed combination of preference modeling paradigms - elicitation by decomposition and holistic evaluation - within the FITradeoff decision process is explained, as well its potential advantages for the elicitation process. Moreover, a brief review on the practical applications of the method in different contexts is presented. In addition, this work also brings a summary on the results of behavioral experiments conducted using neuroscience tools with the FITradeoff method, as well the methodological insights resulted from them, and future perspectives of potential research topics related to the FITradeoff method. Flexible Tradeoff MAVT, MAVT , (MAVT) DM (DM years literature problems Furthermore studies approached choice, choice (choice ranking portfolio presented explained Moreover addition (MAVT

ABSTRACT The Flexible and Interactive Tradeoff (FITradeoff) method is a multicriteria decision making/aiding (MCDM/A) method that uses partial information about the decision maker’s (DM’s) preferences in order to build a recommendation. This method preserves the strong axiomatic structure of the traditional tradeoff procedure, with an interactive and flexible process that demands less cognitive effort from the DM. Although FITradeoff has already been applied for aiding several practical decision situations, there is no previous study that tests the performance of this method with respect to expected theoretical benefits such as time and effort reduction. In this context, this paper presents the results of a simulation experiment that aims to analyze the behavior of FITradeoff in a wide range of scenarios. Computational constraints were identified in the simulation process, such as the number of simulations for each iteration. Despite the memory limitation of the software used, the number of total simulations performed was greater than what is commonly found in literature. We investigate how the performance of FITradeoff can be affected by changes in number of criteria, number of alternatives and weight pattern, and therefore it is possible to have a deeper understanding of the method and its main features. Therefore, this work focuses on studying, through simulations, the behavior of the multicriteria method FITradeoff, developed by De Almeida et al. (2016), filling a lack in the literature by analyzing said method in a wide array of scenarios by a simulation process in order to bring a better understanding of the method, as well as to validate it in a simulation study.