3. Line arithmetic mean (MAL) pairwise comparison method

The method we're now presenting (steps 3 to 5) is quick and easy to apply, either by hand or using an Excel® spreadsheet.

• Construct a matrix of importance ratio comparisons, reciprocal and with 1's on the diagonal. The matrix need not be consistent, as it is the result of pair-by-pair expert estimation.

• Sum the matrix comparisons over the rows.

• Normalize the result (divide each sum by the sum of the sums).

This vector is already a good approximation of the weights. We can be satisfied with this.