AWWA ACE61854

This paper discusses a decision-making software package called Criterium Decision Plus® (CDP) that is used for alternative analysis for various water projects. The paper presents the features and benefits of CDP and its application to a water master plan alternative analysis for development of a regional water system. CDP is a decision management tool that helps the project team identify, organize, communicate, and complete complex decision-making tasks. CDP typically is used in a workshop setting to identify key criteria and subcriteria for selecting an alternative. The key criteria and subcriteria are then assigned weights relative to their priority for the project, and alternatives are rated based on these criteria to identify the preferred alternative. Upon identification of the preferred alternative, the software program analyzes the results of the weighting and rating to ensure accuracy, including the sensitivity of each of the criteria. Graphical outputs illustrate the results of the evaluation. Economic factors are then evaluated through a cost-benefit analysis. Includes figures.