Options

Options (also called alternatives) are basic entities studied in a decision problem. Depending on the problem, they can represent different objects, solutions, courses of action, etc., which are evaluated and analyzed by a multi-attribute model.

In DEXi, each option is represented by its name (not necessarily unique) and a set of values, so that one value is assigned to each attribute in the tree of attributes. These values are further distinguished into:

• option description: vector of values assigned to basic attributes;

• intermediate evaluation results: values assigned to aggregate attributes other than the roots of the tree;

• final (or overall) evaluation results: values assigned to the root(s) of the tree.

Values assigned to basic attributes can be either defined or undefined:

• Defined means that a single qualitative value from the corresponding scale has been assigned to that attribute.

• Undefined means that the value is unknown or unspecified. In DEXi, this is denoted by an asterisk ‘*’ and is interpreted as a set of all values that can be assigned to the corresponding attribute.

Example

See options (cars) as described and evaluated in the Car Evaluation model.

See also

DEXi’s Options Page.

DEXi’s Evaluation Page.

Saving options on files.