ENGSCI 755 : Decision Making in Engineering
Engineering
2023 Semester Two (1235) (15 POINTS)
Course Prescription
Course Overview
- Simple prioritisation, i.e.~ranking goals in order of importance or weighting them.
- Multi-attribute value theory: Decision maker structures the problem, and specifies their values and weights and thus develops a decision model.
- Outranking methods: Decision maker preference is queried through pairwise comparisons of options.
- Analytic Hierarchy Process: The decision maker initially defines hierarchies of goals and subgoals. The decision maker iteratively ranks these goals among each other and eventually reaches a measure of their preference and hence the best decision.
Please note that this course has a component that requires you to independently review a research paper or book chapter on case studies, and then present this to the class in a short presentation.
Capabilities Developed in this Course
| Capability 1: | Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice |
| Capability 2: | Critical Thinking |
| Capability 3: | Solution Seeking |
| Capability 4: | Communication and Engagement |
| Capability 5: | Independence and Integrity |
| Capability 6: | Social and Environmental Responsibilities |
Learning Outcomes
- Be able to plan, justify and evaluate decisions based on decision making concepts taught in this course. This includes correctly classifying a decision making problem and correctly constructing a decision making model in the context of its theoretical foundation. (Capability 1.1, 2.1 and 3.2)
- Demonstrate an understanding of basic decision making concepts by identifying situations in which decision heuristics are applied, understanding the properties of decision heuristics in contrast to more formal structured decision making approaches. (Capability 1.1, 2.1 and 3.2)
- Communicate the steps and outcomes of a multi-criteria decision making process to peers in written, and oral form. (Capability 4.2, 4.3 and 6.1)
- Be able to apply multiattribute value theory to a decision making problem and use it to analyse and evaluate different alternatives ultimately arriving at a decision, after performing sensitivity analysis of critical aspects of the decision making process. (Capability 1.1, 2.2, 3.2, 4.3, 6.1 and 6.2)
- Be able to undertake an AHP analysis of a decision problem and use it to derive a preferred decision (Capability 1.1, 2.2, 3.2, 6.1 and 6.2)
- Demonstrate an understanding of the basic theoretical concepts of outranking approaches, and be able to apply different outranking methods do model decision making problems (Capability 1.1, 2.2, 3.2, 6.1 and 6.2)
- Demonstrate an understanding of Multiattribute value theory for modelling decision making problems under uncertainty, from theoretical to practical applications (Capability 1.1, 2.2, 3.2, 6.1 and 6.2)
- Be able to conduct multicriteria decision analysis based on decision analysis software (Capability 1.1 and 2.2)
- Apply a multicriteria decision making method of your choice to model a decision making problem of your choice and carefully describe the modelling process, its outcomes and sensitivity analysis (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.2, 4.3, 6.1 and 6.2)
- Analyse and critically evaluate a research paper or book chapter in the field of multicriteria decision analaysis and present its content (with your critical evaluation) to peers. (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 4.2, 4.3 and 5.2)
Assessments
| Assessment Type | Percentage | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Assignments | 10% | Individual Coursework |
| Tests | 6% | Individual Test |
| Project | 15% | Individual Coursework |
| Presentation | 15% | Group & Individual Coursework |
| Final Exam | 50% | Individual Examination |
| Laboratories | 4% | Individual Coursework |
| 6 types | 100% |
| Assessment Type | Learning Outcome Addressed | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
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| Tests | ||||||||||
| Project | ||||||||||
| Presentation | ||||||||||
| Final Exam | ||||||||||
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Workload Expectations
This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.
For this course, you can expect 22 hours of lectures (with a few in-class tutorials), 2 hours of computer labs (with an additional 4 hours to complete / revise computer lab content), 12 hours of seminar presentations (all students are expected to attended their peers' presentations), 25 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 85 hours of work on assignment, project, presentation and test / exam preparation.
Delivery Mode
Campus Experience
Attendance is expected at scheduled activities including lectures, labs, tutorials, peer presentations to complete components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including labs, some tutorials and peer presentations will not be available as recordings.
The course will not include live online events.
Attendance on campus is required for the tests.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.
Learning Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
Student Feedback
At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.
Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.
Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.
Academic Integrity
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.
Class Representatives
Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.
Inclusive Learning
All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.
Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz
Special Circumstances
If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.
If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.
This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.
Learning Continuity
In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.
Student Charter and Responsibilities
The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.
Disclaimer
Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.
In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.