Rounding errors in pairwise comparisons matrices by Monte Carlo analysis

A pairwise comparisons technique is used to obtain preferences of decision makers. It is especially useful in multi-criteria decision analysis. One of the most famous methods based on pairwise comparisons is the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). In this method, the comparisons are limited to discrete values of a rating scale. This limitation of comparisons may cause rounding errors. In the AHP, inaccuracy in decision-making assessments may be detected by inconsistency analysis. However, the rounding is not a decision maker’s mistake. In this article, the size of rounding errors and the values of inconsistency indices related to this kind of error are investigated. Presented results are obtained using the Monte Carlo experiment.

---

Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa nr POPUL/SP/0154/2024/02 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki II" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki (2025).