Usage of Multiple Qualitative Decision-Making Method of "DEX Expert Decision" in Architecture and Urbanism

Multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a sub discipline of operations research that explicitly evaluates multiple conflicting criteria in decision making. MCDA are well known acronyms for multiple-criteria decision making and multiple criteria decision analysis; Stanley Zionts helped popularizing the acronym with his 1979 article " MCDM – If not a Roman Numeral, then What?", intended for an entrepreneurial audience. MCDM is concerned with structuring and solving decision and planning problems involving multiple criteria. The purpose is to support decision-makers facing such problems. Typically, there does not exist a unique optimal solution for such problems and it is necessary to use decision maker's preferences to differentiate between solutions. "Solving" can be interpreted in different ways. It could correspond to choosing the "best" alternative from a set of available alternatives, where "best" can be interpreted as "the most preferred alternative" of a decision-maker. Another interpretation of "solving" could be choosing a small set of good alternatives, or grouping alternatives into different preference sets. An extreme interpretation could be to find all "efficient" or "nondominated" alternatives. Many "Multiple Criteria Decision Making" (MCDM) methods are available, which are often implemented by specialized decision-making software. One of the most important methods is the DEX method. DEX (Decision EXpert) Analytic Hierarchy Process is a qualitative and simple method that used to make decisions in situations where conflicting decision making criteria deal with difficult to make choosing between options. This method was first proposed by a Slovenian research group in 1983 and it has been used in many fields of science, including industry, health and housing up to now. DEX facilitates the following: - Acquisition of decision models, which are composed of: a hierarchy of attributes, and the corresponding utility functions that are defined by decision rules; - Consistency checking of decision rules; - Acquisition, evaluation and analysis of options; - Explanation of the evaluation results; - Group decision-making support. This article is extracted from the thesis "Design of Persian Miniature House with an Approach to Applying the Mystical Attitude of Iranian Painting". It has also tried to test the DEX method in the area of architecture; for this purpose, it is used in the site locating section. To select a site from existing sites, It needs components that are in line with the project approach and use. These are presented in the body of the article as an example. Now, in this context, can DEX be the target's answer? In this paper, a specific usage of this method is examined with an example of architecture, i.e. in selecting the appropriate location for the design of the project. The obtained results show that the DEX hierarchical analysis process method, which is done today with the help of software, regarding to be simple, flexible, using qualitative criteria and also the ability to review adaptability in judgments, can be used in simple issues, such as selecting a machine, to more complex issues such as the choice of land in architecture and urban projects, and to achieve the desired result.