From Outranking Flow Scores to Linear Programs: Group Decision Making in PROMETHEE II

Alexandre Flachs, Yves De Smet

We study inverse and consensus analysis for PROMETHEE II ranking problems when the performance table is fixed. Existing approaches in PROMETHEE-based sensitivity and consensus analysis usually focus on deviations of criteria weights while treating preference functions as fixed. Nevertheless both sets of parameters jointly determine the outranking flow scores. We introduce a linear reparametrization of the PROMETHEE II net flow scores based on weighted preference increments over the observed differences of performances. This representation yields a linear expression of the net flows and clarifies how weights and preference functions interact. Building on this result, we derive linear optimization models for three settings: minimizing weight deviations while allowing preference functions to vary; minimizing deviations over the full set of preference parameters; and multiple decision-maker consensus analysis (with objectives based either on total deviation or on the maximal individual deviation to promote fairness). An illustrative example shows that allowing preference functions to vary can dramatically change the inverse-analysis conclusions obtained from weight-only models, and…