Advanced Risk Analysis in Engineering Enterprise Systems

3.5      Multiattribute Utility—The Power Additive Utility Function

Thus far, utility has been discussed from a single-dimensional perspective. The preceding focused on a single-dimensional utility function, its properties, and its characteristics. This section examines multiattribute utility. This is concerned with specifying a utility function over multiple criteria or multiple attributes that characterize an option or alternative. The question is one of ranking these options as a function of how well they perform across a set of criteria or attributes.

Multiattribute utility functions come in several general forms. For purposes of this discussion, we focus on one form known as the power-additive utility function. Kirkwood (1997) provides ...