MCDA Calculator: A Streamlined Decision Support System for Multi-criteria Decision Analysis

The multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) landscape is fraught with complexity and challenges, particularly in diverse decision-making environments. Practitioners often face the challenging tasks of selecting appropriate MCDA methodologies, navigating complicated computational processes, and effectively synthesizing inputs from a variety of stakeholders. The existing landscape of MCDA tools, which are typically limited to specific methodologies, exacerbates these challenges, often resulting in fragmented workflows and steep learning curves. To overcome these hurdles, the MCDA Calculator ( https://mcda-calculator.psi.ch ) emerges as a novel decision support system (DSS), providing a unified and streamlined platform tailored to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of computational process for experienced practitioners in applying MCDA. The MCDA Calculator features a streamlined computational workflow that blends different MCDA methodologies into a cohesive unit. This approach ensures a consistent and intuitive user experience, effectively eliminating the need for complex, time-consuming configurations. The tool’s design philosophy focuses on simplifying the MCDA calculation process. In this paper, we introduce our DSS and detail the workflow of the developed web-based tool. To illustrate the practical benefits and real-world applicability of the MCDA Calculator, the paper presents a numerical example which illustrates the tool’s ability to streamline calculation processes, and produce insightful, actionable results.