Making Decisions – Vol. XI: ORESTE

            ORESTE is a prioritization and decision-making tool that evaluates alternatives according to their deviations from a hypothetical ideal solution.  The acronym, translated from French, stands for “organization, storage, and synthesis of relational data.”  The method establishes a hierarchy of criteria that is then used to determine a hierarchy of alternatives.
            In this installment, a relatively-simple analysis is used to demonstrate the ORESTE method.  The hypothetical machine purchase of previous installments is revisited, maintaining continuity that facilitates comparison of methods.  A potential pitfall of the method and recovery options are also discussed.

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