Fuzzy FlowSort: An integration of the FlowSort method and Fuzzy Set Theory for decision making on the basis of inaccurate quantitative data

Nowadays, most real-life decision problems can be modeled as sorting problems although it is difficult to quantitatively express the evaluation criteria precisely or precise values are inadequate to model the criteria. For these situations, multicriteria methods can be extended by using fuzzy theory, thereby providing mathematical methods able to deal with decision processes in a fuzzy environment. In this context, we propose a sorting method called Fuzzy FlowSort (F-FlowSort) based on Fuzzy Set Theory and FlowSort, which is a Promethee-based sorting method. To demonstrate the usefulness and applicability of this new method, an illustrative numerical example is presented. The result confirms the potential and the applicability of associating fuzzy logic with the FlowSort method for processing imprecise data. Comparisons are made between the results provided by Fuzzy FlowSort and FlowSort and also between Fuzzy FlowSort and another algorithm based on FlowSort that deals with the imprecision of data when they are defined by intervals. In addition, the association between the results obtained with the F-FlowSort and FlowSort methods and Promethee and F-Promethee methods is investigated.