Multiple-criteria decisionmaking: A retrospective analysis

DURING THE PAST two decades the consideration of multiple objectives in modeling and decisionmaking has grown by leaps and bounds. The seventies in particular have seen the emphasis shift from the dominance of single-objective modeling and optimization toward an emphasis on multiple objectives. This has led to the emergence of a new field that has come to be known as multiple-criteria decisionmaking (MCDM). It seems constructive at this state of development of MCDM to share with the readership of the IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics a retrospective analysis of MCDM and reflect upon its present stage of development in order to stimulate discussion and initiate contributed papers on the subject. The analysis will be both subjective and limited.