A Statistical Hypothesis Testing Method for the Rank Ordering of the Priorities of the Alternatives in the Analytic Hierarchy Process.

In analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a ratio scale ( π₁, π₂, ⋯, π _t) for the priorities of the alternatives { T₁, T₂, ⋯, T _t} is used for a decision problem in which π _i/ π _j is used to quantify the ratio of the priority of T _i to that of T _j. In a group decision-making setup, the subjective estimates of π _i/ π _j are obtained as entries of a pairwise comparison matrix for each member of the group. On the basis of these pairwise comparison matrices, one of the topics of interest in some situation is the total rank ordering of the priorities of the alternatives. In this article, a statistical method is proposed for testing a specific total rank ordering of the priorities of the alternatives. The method developed is then illustrated using numerical examples. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]