Patent Document ID: 8429115
Application ID: 12646312
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. An apparatus comprising: an analytic network process (ANP) storage memory that stores an ANP weighted supermatrix representing an ANP model; and a processor in communication with the ANP storage memory, the processor being configured to facilitate fixing each one of plural nodes one at a time in the ANP model and measuring a row sensitivity of each one of the plural nodes as it is fixed, the row sensitivity being measured using one or both of (i) a predetermined increase value and (ii) a predetermined decrease value; scoring how much synthesized alternatives scores found by doing ANP row sensitivity on each of the plural fixed nodes change from original values thereof, to generate a value indicating a change distance for each one of the plural nodes; maintaining a same proportionality in the stored ANP weighted supermatrix as the fixed node is changed by the one or both of the predetermined increase and decrease values: and utilizing a weighted average of different metrique calculations of the alternative scores on the space where a metrique is defined according to: 
 x =( x 1 , x 2 ,. .. , x n ) y =( y 1 , y 2 ,. .. , y n ) are two vectors in R n ′, where R n is real n-space with the ANP model, x i is a starting alternative score for alternative i, and y i is an ending alternative score for the alternative i, and d:R n ×R n →R a continuous function is a metrique calculation iff for all x,yεR n 
 d ( x,y )≧0, and 
 d ( x,x )=0.