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Multi-attribute utility 127
Utility
1.0
0.5
Utility
1.0
0.5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
0
50
Overrun time (weeks)
(a) (b)
Figure 5.18 – Utility functions for overrun time and project cost
100 140
Project cost ($000)
Table 5.4 – The project manager’s utilities for overrun
and cost
No. of weeks
project overruns
target Utility
Cost of
project ($) Utility
0 1.0 50 000 1.00
1 0.9 60 000 0.96
3 0.6 80 000 0.90
6 0.0 120 000 0.55
140 000 0.00
This implies that u(3 weeks overrun) = 0.6. By a similar process, the
manager indicates that u(1 week overrun) = 0.9. The resulting utility
function is shown in Figure 5.18(a).
We then repeat the elicitation process to obtain a utility function
for project cost. The function obtained from the manager is shown
in Figure 5.18(b). Table 5.4 summarizes the utilities which have been
elicited for overrun and cost.
Stage 2
We now need to combine these utility functions to obtain the multiattribute
utility function. If the two attributes are mutually utility