Graphical analysis of consistency in the AHP/ANP pairwise comparison matrix of criteria or decision alternatives.

The consistency analysis in AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and ANP (Analytic Network Process) methods is a critical element that helps evaluate how consistent the pairwise comparisons of criteria or decision alternatives made by the decision-maker are. Inconsistent evaluations can lead to erroneous or misleading results. The article presents a simple method of graphical analysis of the consistency of these evaluations (occurring in the so-called pairwise comparison matrix). The proposed concept of spatial visualization of the relative positioning of the compared pairwise criteria or decision alternatives offers analysts, on the one hand, a straightforward and visually appealing way to formulate always consistent evaluations. On the other hand, it facilitates the identification (seeing), understanding, and correction of undesirable inconsistencies in situations where the classical method of evaluation formulation, recommended by Saaty [1], has been used, where each compared pair of elements is considered separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]