Prioritization of the launch of ICT products and services through linguistic multi-criteria decision-making

The market launch of new products and services is a basic pillar for large and medium-sized companies in the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) sector. Choosing the right moment for it is usually a differentiating factor in terms of competition, since it is a source of competitive advantage. There are several mechanisms and strategies to address this problem from the market perspective. However, the criteria of the different actors involved – managers, sales representatives, experts, etc. – coexist in the corporate sphere and they often differ, causing difficulties in priority setting processes in the launch of a product or service. The assessment of the prioritization of these criteria is usually expressed in natural language, thus adding a great deal of uncertainty. Fuzzy linguistic models have proved to be an efficient tool for managing the intrinsic uncertainty of this type of information. This paper presents a linguistic multi-criteria decision-making model, able to reconcile the different requirements and viewpoints existing in the corporate sector when planning the launch of new products and services. The proposed model is based on the fuzzy 2-tuple linguistic model, aimed at managing linguistic data expressing different corporate criteria, without compromising accuracy in the calculation of said data. In order to illustrate this, a practical case study is presented, in which the model is applied for scheduling the launch prioritization of several new products and services by a telecommunications company, within the deadlines set in its strategic planning.The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support received from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the Research Projects TIN2016-75850-R, TIN2016-79484-R and TIN2013-40658-P

Architecture value mapping: using fuzzy cognitive maps as a reasoning mechanism for multi-criteria conceptual design evaluation

The conceptual design phase is the most critical phase in the systems engineering life cycle. The design concept chosen during this phase determines the structure and behavior of the system, and consequently, its ability to fulfill its intended function. A good conceptual design is the first step in the development of a successful artifact. However, decision-making during conceptual design is inherently challenging and often unreliable. The conceptual design phase is marked by an ambiguous and imprecise set of requirements, and ill-defined system boundaries. A lack of usable data for design evaluation makes the problem worse. In order to assess a system accurately, it is necessary to capture the relationships between its physical attributes and the stakeholders\u27 value objectives. This research presents a novel conceptual architecture evaluation approach that utilizes attribute-value networks, designated as \u27Architecture Value Maps\u27, to replicate the decision makers\u27 cogitative processes. Ambiguity in the system\u27s overall objectives is reduced hierarchically to reveal a network of criteria that range from the abstract value measures to the design-specific performance measures. A symbolic representation scheme, the 2-Tuple Linguistic Representation is used to integrate different types of information into a common computational format, and Fuzzy Cognitive Maps are utilized as the reasoning engine to quantitatively evaluate potential design concepts. A Linguistic Ordered Weighted Average aggregation operator is used to rank the final alternatives based on the decision makers\u27 risk preferences. The proposed methodology provides systems architects with the capability to exploit the interrelationships between a system\u27s design attributes and the value that stakeholders associate with these attributes, in order to design robust, flexible, and affordable systems --Abstract, page iii

Decision Support Systems

Decision support systems (DSS) have evolved over the past four decades from theoretical concepts into real world computerized applications. DSS architecture contains three key components: knowledge base, computerized model, and user interface. DSS simulate cognitive decision-making functions of humans based on artificial intelligence methodologies (including expert systems, data mining, machine learning, connectionism, logistical reasoning, etc.) in order to perform decision support functions. The applications of DSS cover many domains, ranging from aviation monitoring, transportation safety, clinical diagnosis, weather forecast, business management to internet search strategy. By combining knowledge bases with inference rules, DSS are able to provide suggestions to end users to improve decisions and outcomes. This book is written as a textbook so that it can be used in formal courses examining decision support systems. It may be used by both undergraduate and graduate students from diverse computer-related fields. It will also be of value to established professionals as a text for self-study or for reference

Fraud detection in the banking sector : a multi-agent approach

Fraud is an increasing phenomenon as shown in many surveys carried out by leading international consulting companies in the last years. Despite the evolution of electronic payments and hacking techniques there is still a strong human component in fraud schemes. Conflict of interest in particular is the main contributing factor to the success of internal fraud. In such cases anomaly detection tools are not always the best instruments, since the fraud schemes are based on faking documents in a context dominated by lack of controls, and the perpetrators are those ones who should control possible irregularities. In the banking sector audit team experts can count only on their experience, whistle blowing and the reports sent by their inspectors. The Fraud Interactive Decision Expert System (FIDES), which is the core of this research, is a multi-agent system built to support auditors in evaluating suspicious behaviours and to speed up the evaluation process in order to detect or prevent fraud schemes. The system combines Think-map, Delphi method and Attack trees and it has been built around audit team experts and their needs. The output of FIDES is an attack tree, a tree-based diagram to ”systematically categorize the different ways in which a system can be attacked”. Once the attack tree is built, auditors can choose the path they perceive as more suitable and decide whether or not to start the investigation. The system is meant for use in the future to retrieve old cases in order to match them with new ones and find similarities. The retrieving features of the system will be useful to simplify the risk management phase, since similar countermeasures adopted for past cases might be useful for present ones. Even though FIDES has been built with the banking sector in mind, it can be applied in all those organisations, like insurance companies or public organizations, where anti-fraud activity is based on a central anti-fraud unit and a reporting system

Supply Chain

Traditionally supply chain management has meant factories, assembly lines, warehouses, transportation vehicles, and time sheets. Modern supply chain management is a highly complex, multidimensional problem set with virtually endless number of variables for optimization. An Internet enabled supply chain may have just-in-time delivery, precise inventory visibility, and up-to-the-minute distribution-tracking capabilities. Technology advances have enabled supply chains to become strategic weapons that can help avoid disasters, lower costs, and make money. From internal enterprise processes to external business transactions with suppliers, transporters, channels and end-users marks the wide range of challenges researchers have to handle. The aim of this book is at revealing and illustrating this diversity in terms of scientific and theoretical fundamentals, prevailing concepts as well as current practical applications

CBR and MBR techniques: review for an application in the emergencies domain

The purpose of this document is to provide an in-depth analysis of current reasoning engine practice and the integration strategies of Case Based Reasoning and Model Based Reasoning that will be used in the design and development of the RIMSAT system. RIMSAT (Remote Intelligent Management Support and Training) is a European Commission funded project designed to: a.. Provide an innovative, 'intelligent', knowledge based solution aimed at improving the quality of critical decisions b.. Enhance the competencies and responsiveness of individuals and organisations involved in highly complex, safety critical incidents - irrespective of their location. In other words, RIMSAT aims to design and implement a decision support system that using Case Base Reasoning as well as Model Base Reasoning technology is applied in the management of emergency situations. This document is part of a deliverable for RIMSAT project, and although it has been done in close contact with the requirements of the project, it provides an overview wide enough for providing a state of the art in integration strategies between CBR and MBR technologies.Postprint (published version

A web-based collaborative decision making system for construction project teams using fuzzy logic

In the construction industry, the adoption of concurrent engineering principles requires the development of effective enabling IT tools. Such tools need to address specific areas of need in the implementation of concurrent engineering in construction. Collaborative decision-making is an important area in this regard. A review of existing works has shown that none of the existing approaches to collaborative decision-making adequately addresses the needs of distributed construction project teams. The review also reveals that fuzzy logic offers great potential for application to collaborative decision-making. This thesis describes a Web-based collaborative decision-making system for construction project teams using fuzzy logic. Fuzzy logic is applied to tackle uncertainties and imprecision during the decision-making process. The prototype system is designed as Web-based to cope with the difficulty in the case where project team members are geographically distributed and physical meetings are inconvenient/or expensive. The prototype was developed into a Web-based software using Java and allows a virtual meeting to be held within a construction project team via a client-server system. The prototype system also supports objectivity in group decision-making and the approach encapsulated in the prototype system can be used for generic decision-making scenarios. The system implementation revealed that collaborative decision-making within a virtual construction project team can be significantly enhanced by the use of a fuzzybased approach. A generic scenario and a construction scenario were used to evaluate the system and the evaluation confirmed that the system does proffer many benefits in facilitating collaborative decision-making in construction. It is concluded that the prototype decision-making system represents a unique and innovative approach to collaborative decision-making in construction project teams. It not only contributes to the implementation of concurrent engineering in construction, but also it represents a substantial advance over existing approaches