Applying analytic hierarchy process and two-sided matching to the armed forces personnel assignment process: A decision support system

The existing personnel assignment in Armed Forces of many countries, is a one-sided process, completely depending on detailers, with very little role of personnel. In this process, detailers assign sailors to the billets while trying to satisfy the needs and preferences of commands and personnel. While considering multiple criteria, assigning personnel in an optimal way is a very difficult task. There are many attributes to be taken into account, some of which contradict each other. The human mind has limitations when dealing with multi attribute problems and the associated set of multiple tradeoffs. Providing a mathematical solution to the problem with the ability to evaluate tradeoffs could provide useful insight to decision makers and help reduce bias in the overall personnel assignment process. Use of analytic hierarchy process would be beneficial in this sense. Past studies showed that there are shortcomings in the current process and significant positive results can be gained if a two-sided matching algorithm is used. It is found that the application of a two-sided matching process would significantly reduce the number of detailers required and improve the overall quality of assignments. Two-sided matching and analytic hierarchy process will ensure, personnel will be satisfied with their preferences of next billet and Armed Forces will get the quality of personnel it demands. This study looks at these issues and proposes an alternative decision support system for the personnel assignment process that will yield gains for the Armed Forces and its personnel. A multi-criteria decision support model was designed and a software environment implemented employing this model to make job assignment decisions. Key Words : Analytic Hierarchy Process, Two-Sided Matching, Assignment Problem, Decision Support System