Equal Criteria Influence Approach (ECIA): Balancing Criteria Impact in Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

In multi-criteria decision-making, determining the importance of individual criteria remains a crucial problem. Traditional approaches to weighting criteria often result in insufficient consideration of the varying influence of criteria on decision outcomes. This paper introduces a novel iterative method called the Equal Criteria Influence Approach (ECIA) to tackle this problem. ECIA aims to equalize the influence of criteria by iteratively adjusting their weights. Unlike conventional methods, ECIA emphasizes the impact of criteria on the preference of alternatives. This approach is comprehensively analyzed through a small simulation study and analysis of the decision problem of assessing crisis management systems. Studies show that ECIA offers a unique solution to dealing with variability in the impact of criteria, leading to a more balanced and stable decision-making model.