Output details

A new integrated tool for complex decision making: Application to the UK energy sector

The design and operation of engineering artefacts entails networks of interrelated decisions, each involving many alternatives, criteria and parameters that may change over time. The capture of the interrelationships between decisions and their justifications can facilitate the re-use of rationale in similar situations and for future reference. This paper describes OUTDO, an innovative framework that integrates Rationale Management, Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis and Forecasting techniques, resulting in a powerful system that incorporates the past, present and future factors affecting a decision. OUTDO is being used by Nerixis, an inter-institutional project for the conceptual design of biorefineries (contact details available).