Mapping verbal responses to numerical scales in the analytic hierarchy process

Central to the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) are the pairwise comparisons between decision alternatives that are elicited either verbally or numerically. Since comparisons expressed in numbers are required to compute importance weights in the approach, all verbal judgments must be quantified. We propose new scales, and develop a way to identify which numerical scale is best for a given individual. The approach is based on newly-designed compound operation of decision-makers’ preference judgments. We illustrate this process with two examples.