Implementing the Analytic Hierarchy Process as a Standard Method for Multi-Criteria Decision Making in Corporate Enterprises – a New AHP Excel Template with Multiple Inputs

Though the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is universal and powerful in its application, it is still simple enough to be implemented in a spreadsheet program like MS Excel. In this paper the author describes the development of a general, freely available AHP Excel template, allowing for multiple inputs with individual and consolidated output for decision makers. After an explanation of the template's structure, realization and limitations, its practical use is illustrated with actual examples. They range from the determination of weights for key performance indicators in business performance management, over the ranking of growth strategies for a company, to the selection of leadership competencies for a leadership development program. Experiences and challenges in the implementation and application of AHP will be highlighted. For the analysis of the group judgments within the projects, a new consensus indicator is introduced. It is based on the concept of diversity using Shannon entropy. Partitioning into two independent components allows finding clusters of high consensus within groups of decision makers.