The classification-based consensus in multi-attribute group decision-making

In multi-attribute group decision-making problem (MAGDM), the existing consensus reaching process (CRP) is to obtain a consensus ranking of alternatives. However, these CRPs contradict some real-life MAGDM problems in which decision-makers do not need to rank alternatives and hope to classify the alternatives into several groups instead. Thus, in this paper we propose a new CRP in MAGDM, called the classification-based consensus reaching process (CCRP). First, we present a feedback method with minimum adjustments to generate the optimal adjusted individual matrices via a 0–1 mixed linear programming model for CCRP. Subsequently, we develop the interactive consensus reaching process based on the feedback method with minimum adjustments in CCRP. Finally, a practical example from China Undergraduate Mathematical Contest in Modeling and a simulation analysis are conducted to demonstrate the validity of the proposed CCRP.