Decision‐Support System for Modeling Bid/No‐Bid Decision Problem
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 116, Issue 4
Abstract
A structured methodology for modeling the bid/no‐bid decision problem is presented. The method is based on the techniques of decision analysis. The advantages of explicating the decision‐making process is emphasized in the paper. Explication of the process brings numerous advantages, including improved communication and documentation of the underlying technique and assumptions. Suggestions are made about how to explicate the decision‐making process. A procedure for quantifying the subjective evaluation and the aspiration level of a bidder is outlined. The model is based on a set of attributes obtained as a result of a questionnaire survey conducted among 400 of the top general contractors of the United States. It was assumed that these attributes are independent of each other, implying an additive model. The structured decision‐making process, as suggested, is suitable for implementation in a computerized decision‐support system. The method is demonstrated with the help of a hypothetical example.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Ahmad, I. (1988). “Bidding strategy: Multicriteria decision making approach,” thesis presented to the University of Cincinnati, at Cincinnati, Ohio, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
2.
Ahmad, I., and Minkarah, I. (1987). “Optimum markup for bidding: A preference‐uncertainty tradeoff approach.” Civ. Engrg. Syst., 4(4), 170–174.
3.
Ahmad, I., and Minkarah, I. (1988). “Questionnaire survey on bidding in construction.” J. Mgmt. in Engrg., ASCE, 4(3), 229–243.
4.
Breese, J. (1988). Review of the books “The principles and applications of decision analysis,” by R. Howard and J. Matheson and “Decision analysis and behavioral research,” by D. Winterfeldt and W. Edwards. AI Mag., AAAI, 9(1), 124–126.
5.
Carr, R. I. (1982). “General bidding model.” J. Constr. Div., ASCE, 108(4), 639–650.
6.
Friedman, L. (1956). “A competitive bidding strategy.” Oper. Res., 4(1), 104–112.
7.
Gates, M. (1967). “Bidding strategies and probabilities.” J. Constr. Div., ASCE, 93(1), 75–107.
8.
Holtzman, S. (1989). Intelligent decision systems. Addison‐Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., Reading, Mass.
9.
Keeney, R. L., and Raiffa, H. (1976). Decisions with multiple objectives: Preferences and value tradeoffs. John Wiley and Sons, New York, N.Y.
10.
Sage, A. P. (1977). Methodology for large‐scale systems. McGraw‐Hill Book Company, New York, N.Y.
11.
Tell, B. (1976). “A comparative study of four multiple‐criteria methods.” Multiple criteria decision making: Jouy‐en‐Josas, France, H. Thiriez, and S. Zionts, eds., Springer‐Verlag, New York, N.Y., 183–197.
12.
“The top 400 contractors.” (1986). Engrg. News Record, Apr. 17, 61–86.
13.
Willenbrock, J. H. (1972). “A comparative study of expected monetary value and expected utility value bidding strategy models.” Report No. 3, Construction Management Research Series, Dept. of Civ. Engrg., Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, Pa.
14.
Zeleny, M. (1982). Multiple criteria decision making. McGraw‐Hill Book Company, New York, N.Y.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 116 • Issue 4 • December 1990
Pages: 595 - 608
Copyright
Copyright © 1990 ASCE.
History
Published online: Dec 1, 1990
Published in print: Dec 1990
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.