MCDM 2009, the 20th International Conference on Multiple-Criteria Decision M- ing, emerged as a global forum dedicated to the sharing of original research results and practical development experiences among researchers and application developers from different multiple-criteria decision making-related areas such as multiple-criteria decision aiding, multiple criteria classification, ranking, and sorting, multiple obj- tive continuous and combinatorial optimization, multiple objective metaheuristics, multiple-criteria decision making and preference modeling, and fuzzy multiple-criteria decision making. The theme for MCDM 2009 was “New State of MCDM in the 21st Century.” The conference seeks solutions to challenging problems facing the development of multiple-criteria decision making, and shapes future directions of research by prom- ing high-quality, novel and daring research findings. With the MCDM conference, these new challenges and tools can easily be shared with the multiple-criteria decision making community. The workshop program included nine workshops which focused on different topics in new research challenges and initiatives of MCDM. We received more than 350 submissions for all the workshops, out of which 121 were accepted. This includes 72 regular papers and 49 short papers. We would like to thank all workshop organizers and the Program Committee for the excellent work in maintaining the conference’s standing for high-quality papers.

Data and its processed state 'information' have become an indispensable resource for virtually all aspects of business, education, etc. Consequently, decisions regarding the handling of this data, transforming it into meaningful information, and ultimately arriving at the best course of action have taken on a new importance. This book highlights a selection of cutting-edge research on decision making presented at the 25th International Conference on Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM 2019), held in Istanbul, Turkey.

This book provides application of multi criteria decision making techniques for managerial discretion. With this book, a concerted platform has been provided for several peers and other management organizations to understand and implement these tools and deal with the practical problems in a better way so as to provide more robust managerial decision making.

The success of any activity and process depends fundamentally on the possibility of balancing (symmetry) needs and their satisfaction. That is, the ability to properly define a set of success indicators. The application of the developed new multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods can be eliminated or decreased by decision-makers’ subjectivity, which leads to consistency or symmetry in the weight values of the criteria. In this Special Issue, 40 research papers and one review study co-authored by 137 researchers from 23 different countries explore aspects of multi-criteria modeling and optimization in crisp or uncertain environments. The papers propose new approaches and elaborate case studies in the following areas of application: MCDM optimization in sustainable engineering, environmental sustainability in engineering processes, sustainable multi-criteria production and logistics processes planning, integrated approaches for modeling processes in engineering, new trends in the multi-criteria evaluation of sustainable processes, and multi-criteria decision-making in strategic management based on sustainable criteria.

This book provides a systematic way of how to make better decisions in water resources management. The applications of three weighting methods namely rating, ranking, and ratio are discussed in this book. Additionally, data mining on keywords is presented using three popular scholarly databases: Science Direct, Scopus, and SciVerse. Four abbreviated keywords (MCDM, MCDA, MCA, MADM) representing multi-criteria decision-making were used and these three databases were searched for different popular weighting methods for a period of 13 years (2000-2012). The book provides also a review of weighting methods applied in various multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods and also presents survey results on priority ranking of watershed management criteria undertaken by 30 undergraduate and postgraduate students from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

Multi-criteria Decision Analysis for Supporting the Selection of Engineering Materials in Product Design, Second Edition, provides readers with tactics they can use to optimally select materials to satisfy complex design problems when they are faced with the vast range of materials available. Current approaches to materials selection range from the use of intuition and experience, to more formalized computer-based methods, such as electronic databases with search engines to facilitate the materials selection process. Recently, multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods have been applied to materials selection, demonstrating significant capability for tackling complex design problems. This book describes the rapidly growing field of MCDM and its application to materials selection. It aids readers in producing successful designs by improving the decision-making process. This new edition updates and expands previous key topics, including new chapters on materials selection in the context of design problem-solving and multiple objective decision-making, also presenting a significant amount of additional case studies that will aid in the learning process. - Describes the advantages of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) in the materials selection process through different case studies - Presents a methodology for multi-objective material design optimization that employs Design of Experiments coupled with Finite Element Analysis - Supplements existing quantitative methods of materials selection by allowing simultaneous consideration of design attributes, component configurations, and types of material - Provides a case study for simultaneous materials selection and geometrical optimization processes

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Evolutionary Multi-Criterion Optimization, EMO 2011, held in Ouro Preto, Brazil, in April 2011. The 42 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 83 submissions. The papers deal with fundamental questions of EMO theory, such as the development of algorithmically efficient tools for the evaluation of solution-set quality , the theoretical questions related to solution archiving and others. They report on the continuing effort in the development of algorithms, either for dealing with particular classes of problems or for new forms of processing the problem information. Almost one third of the papers is related to EMO applications in a diversity of fields. Eleven papers are devoted to promote the interaction with the related field of Multi-Criterion Decision Making (MCDM).

th This publication comprises the proceedings of the 29 International Conference on Conceptual Modeling (ER 2010), which was held this year in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Conceptual modeling can be considered as lying at the confluence of the three main aspects of information technology applications –– the world of the stakeholders and users, the world of the developers, and the technologies available to them. C- ceptual models provide abstractions of various aspects related to the development of systems, such as the application domain, user needs, database design, and software specifications. These models are used to analyze and define user needs and system requirements, to support communications between stakeholders and developers, to provide the basis for systems design, and to document the requirements for and the design rationale of developed systems. Because of their role at the junction of usage, development, and technology, c- ceptual models can be very important to the successful development and deployment of IT applications. Therefore, the research and development of methods, techniques, tools and languages that can be used in the process of creating, maintaining, and using conceptual models is of great practical and theoretical importance. Such work is c- ducted in academia, research institutions, and industry. Conceptual modeling is now applied in virtually all areas of IT applications, and spans varied domains such as organizational information systems, systems that include specialized data for spatial, temporal, and multimedia applications, and biomedical applications.

Systems thinking is a method of problem solving that deals with various cultural issues including conflict and compromise. In recent years, researchers have begun studying this approach and applying it within several professional fields, specifically organizations and business management. In the modern age of information, professionals are continually looking for new methods to improve traditional practices within their field. Improving organizational practices through the implementation of the soft systems approach is a growing research area that requires in-depth discussion and case studies. Applications of Soft Systems Methodology for Organizational Change is a collection of innovative research on the theories and practices of soft systems and their application within organizational and industrial analysis. While highlighting topics including agent-based modeling, sustainable energy initiatives, and natural resources allocation, this book is ideally designed for researchers, designers, managers, analysts, practitioners, executives, academicians, and students seeking current research on the theories and applications of soft systems design.