Qualitative Multi-attribute Modeling and its Application in Housing

Abstract

Hierarchical multi-attribute models are aimed at the classification or evaluation of options that occur in a decision process. They decompose the problem into smaller and less complex subproblem and represent it by a hierarchy of attributes and utility functions. This article describes a qualitative modeling approach, which is supported by an expert system shell DEX and whose models are characterised by qualitative attributes and if-then rules. The approach is presented using a real-world case: allocation of housing loans at the Housing Fund of the Republic of Slovenia. The article focuses on the design, implementation and evolution of the corresponding multi-attribute models, and presents the lessons learned during the ten years of the system’s exploitation.