Fuzzy multicriteria analysis for selecting information systems projects

This paper presents a fuzzy multicriteria analysis (MA) approach for effectively solving the information systems (IS) project selection problem. To adequately handle the multi-dimensional nature of the selection process, the MA methodology is applied. To effectively model the inherent subjectiveness and imprecision, linguistic variables approximated by fuzzy numbers are used. To greatly reduce the cognitive demanding on the decision maker (DM), the pairwise comparison technique is adopted. To avoid the complicated and unreliable process of comparing and ranking fuzzy utilities, the concept of the degree of dominance between alternatives is introduced for calculating an overall performance index for every alternative IS project across all criteria. An example is presented for demonstrating the applicability of the proposed approach for effectively addressing the IS project selection problem.