Pairwise comparison asks: for a given parent (“with respect to” this node), how much more important or preferred is A than B? Studio stores those ratios and derives local priorities for that column of the unscaled supermatrix.

When to use pairwise

Use pairwise when you have a manageable set of alternatives or criteria and can compare them two at a time. For many items or categorical intensity, ratings are often easier.

Entering judgments

  1. Open the Judgments stage.
  2. In the left navigation, select a node judgment (parent and destination cluster).
  3. Fill the comparison grid: each entry is a ratio; the reciprocal fills in automatically.
  4. Review the derived priorities / inconsistency indicators the panel shows (treat high inconsistency as a signal to revisit extreme judgments).

Try 02_ahp_best_car.anpstudio: open Judgments, pick a criterion, and inspect the pairwise table for the alternatives.

Tips

  • Compare all required pairs for that context; incomplete sets weaken the column.
  • Prefer consistent intensity language (e.g. Saaty’s 1–9 verbal scale) across the model.
  • Switch a link to ratings from the judgment UI when that fits better—see Ratings.

Next: Ratings · Calculations