Developments in fuzzy multicriteria analysis

Selecting or ranking available alternatives (observations/objects) with respect to multiple, often conflicting criteria in a fuzzy environment usually referred to as fuzzy multicriteria analysis is a problem of a major interest in information and engineering. Methodologies for addressing this problem have been developed from a variety of research disciplines, including statistics, econometrics, artificial intelligent, and operations research. This paper presents an overview of the developments in fuzzy multicriteria analysis. It discusses the complexity of fuzzy multicriteria analysis and analyses the existing approaches from four different perspectives for facilitating a better understanding of the recent development in this domain. Finally, the paper elaborates on the future research areas in fuzzy multicriteria analysis.