MCDMDecision-makingRankingMath steps

PROMETHEE I — Preference Ranking Organisation METHod for Enrichment Evaluations I (partial ranking)

OriginatorBrans, J. P., Vincke, P., Mareschal, B.Year1986Sources1Related methods11

PROMETHEE-I (PROMETHEE I — Preference Ranking Organisation METHod for Enrichment Evaluations I (partial ranking)) is a ranking multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method introduced by Brans, J. P., Vincke, P., Mareschal, B. in 1986. It turns a decision matrix of alternatives scored on multiple criteria into a structured, reproducible result.

Key highlights

  • Follows a transparent, reproducible computational procedure that can be audited step by step.
  • Handles multiple criteria of differing scales and units within a single decision matrix.

Intuition

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How it works

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When to use it

PROMETHEE I produces a partial preorder: A_i outranks A_k (aPb) if φ⁺_i > φ⁺_k AND φ⁻_i < φ⁻_k. A_i and A_k are indifferent (aIb) if φ⁺_i = φ⁺_k AND φ⁻_i = φ⁻_k. Otherwise they are incomparable (aRb). For a complete ranking use PROMETHEE II (net flow φ = φ⁺ − φ⁻).

Strengths & limitations

Strengths
  • Follows a transparent, reproducible computational procedure that can be audited step by step.
  • Handles multiple criteria of differing scales and units within a single decision matrix.
Limitations
  • May exhibit rank reversal when alternatives are added to or removed from the set.

Common pitfalls

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Sources

  1. 1.
    Brans, J. P., Vincke, P., Mareschal, B. (1986). How to select and how to rank projects: The PROMETHEE method. European Journal of Operational Research

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ScholarGate. (2026, June 2). PROMETHEE-I. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/decision-making/promethee-i