Expected value method for intuitionistic trapezoidal fuzzy multicriteria decision-making problems

In this paper, we introduce the expected values for intuitionistic trapezoidal fuzzy numbers and presented a handling method for intuitionistic trapezoidal fuzzy multicriteria decision-making problems, in which the preference values of an alternative on criteria and the weight values of criteria take the form of intuitionistic trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. Simple and exact formulas are proposed to determine the expected weight values of the criteria for an alternative and weighted expected value for an alternative. Therefore, the expected value method is extended for ranking alternatives and the most desirable one(s) can be selected according to the weighted expected values. Finally, an illustrative example shows that the proposed method is simple and effective. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.