An exact algorithm for the multicriteria ordered clustering problem

In the context of multicriteria decision aid, we address the problem of regrouping alternatives into completely ordered categories based on valued preference degrees. We assume that the number of groups is fixed a priori. This will be referred to as the multicriteria ordered clustering problem. The model is based on the definition of an inconsistency matrix and only uses the ordinal properties of the pairwise preference relations. An exact algorithm is proposed to find the ordered partition and is applied as illustration to the Human Development Index. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.