Norese M.F., Mustafa A., Scarelli A. (2016) New frontiers for MCDA: from several indicators to structured models and decision aid processes, Newsletter of the European Working Group “Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding”, 3 (34), Fall 2016, 1-8.

A multicriteria decision aid (MCDA) process is developed by means of interaction with decision maker(s) and stakeholders, but it may also be oriented towards facilitating the Intelligence phase of a decision process when a decision system (with rules and formal relationships between decision makers and with other actors in the decision process) has not yet become active. This situation arises frequently when a decision problem is complex or not well structured. If there is time to develop a “simulating” approach to the real problem, a study that includes modelling and the application of methods can clarify the situation and its results can be proposed to facilitate new decision processes. In relation to a pilot case, a sequence of a multicriteria method applications to a complex resilience model is proposed in order to underline how the analysis of each new result can orient the sequence of model changes and to what extent the comparative visualization of the results can facilitate an identification of limits in the evaluations and in some model parameters. The potential role of a good SW tool is underlined by means of some figures that show some results and which should be visualized together during the modelling process, in order to understand which relationships connect a result to some model components. This procedure could be suggested to those people who are involved in IT innovation and SW development projects, in relation to the difficulties that the end users encounter in MCDA.