A metaheuristic for inferring a ranking model based on multiple reference profiles

In the context of Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding, decision makers often face problems with multiple conflicting criteria that justify the use of preference models to help advancing towards a decision. In order to determine the parameters of these preference models, preference elicitation makes use of preference learning algorithms, usually taking as input holistic judgments, i.e., overall preferences on some of the alternatives, expressed by the decision maker. Tools to achieve this goal in the context of a ranking model based on multiple reference profiles are usually based on mixed-integer linear programming, Boolean satisfiability formulation or metaheuristics. However, they are usually unable to handle realistic problems involving many criteria and a large amount of input information. We propose here an evolutionary metaheuristic in order to address this issue. Extensive experiments illustrate its ability to handle problem instances that previous proposals cannot.