Comparison of AHP-TOPSIS and AHP-AHP methods in multi-criteria decision-making problems

Abstract

Decision-making is a highly researched topic and various methods have been developed to facilitate a decision-maker (DM) in choosing the best alternative. Saaty's analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been very popular since 1977 and has been adapted all over the world. However, AHP is a highly-debated topic. Technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) is another multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method developed by Hwang and Yoon in 1981 as a ranking method. This research is focused on identifying which is the MCDM method between AHP and TOPSIS. Since TOPSIS is a ranking method, the authors propose to combine AHP and TOPSIS methods and determine which method's ranking (AHP, AHP-TOPSIS combination, and TOPSIS with equal weights) aligns more closely with the DM's initial preference. Moreover, this research states the efficiency of the method by comparing the time it takes to make a decision and its reliability.