GD uses the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). AHP is designed to help decision makers structure a problem as a hierarchy of criteria and alternatives. This structuring provides them with a means to make trade-offs among the criteria and prioritise alternatives.
Decision makers are required to make pair-wise comparisons of criteria in each level of the hierarchy and provide a judgment on the relative importance of each.
In this manner, it is possible to compute the relative weight of each criterion for each decision maker and for all the decision makers collectively. Using AHP also allows inconsistencies to be highlighted.
The final step in the process is to score the alternatives against the criteria. By applying the relative weightings to the scores for each of the alternatives, winners can be identified from both individual and decision team perspectives.
