Multi-criteria valuation of flexibility initiatives using integrated TISM – IRP with a big data framework

Abstract

Valuation of flexibility initiatives is important for choosing the affordable and high value creating initiatives. It involves both the consideration of benefits and costs associated with these initiatives. This paper presents a multi-criteria ranking of these initiatives using interpretive ranking process (IRP). It is also aimed to provide a methodological contribution to derive weights of the reference variables in IRP using another interpretive methodology, i.e. total interpretive structural modelling (TISM). The weights are derived using the driving power of benefits and costs using respective TISMs. The paper will be of dual value; one for valuation of flexibility initiatives and the other by giving an integrated TISM-IRP process, which can be used for any multi-criteria ranking problem in an interpretive and knowledge intensive manner. The knowledge can be extracted either from experts or from unstructured data-sets using big data methods for evidence-based decision-making, which is discussed while illustrating various steps of IRP and TISM, and a big data framework is proposed for the same.