SIWEC - Simple Weight Calculation

Overview

Higher w_j = more important criterion. SIWEC advantage: experts do not need to rank or compare criteria pairwise - direct scoring suffices. The standard deviation σ_i reflects how much each expert differentiates between criteria; experts who rate all criteria equally contribute less weight.

Output

Weight, higher is better

Data

Crisp, expert input required

Weights

Derived internally, no weight source needed

Size

0+ alternatives, 3-15 criteria works best

Used for

Any MCDM problem with available experts, group decision making, criteria importance assessment

Look elsewhere when

Assumptions to verify

• Domain experts available and willing to score criteria
• Experts can meaningfully differentiate between criteria (non-zero σ)

Edge cases and pitfalls

• If all experts give identical scores across criteria (zero variance), σ_i = 0 and the expert contributes nothing. Ensure experts score discriminatively.

• SIWEC produces subjective weights - dependent on expert choice. Combine with objective methods (CRITIC, ENTROPY) for robustness check.

Works with

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