Relative Preference Establishment via Icon Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for establishing preferences, such as scoring items on a common scale, face challenges in aggregating relative preferences among multiple participants and can lead to lower-quality judgments due to the use of artificial measurement bases and exponential growth in pairwise comparisons, introducing logical inconsistencies.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize an electronically-presented space where users position icons to indicate preferences, allowing for relative and absolute ratings based on positioning, enabling aggregation of preferences across multiple users while avoiding the limitations of traditional scoring methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If scoring each item individually on a common scale is used, then it provides a simple method for establishing preferences, but it becomes difficult to meaningfully aggregate the relative preference of multiple participants and uses an artificial basis of measurement leading to lower-quality judgments
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of scoring each item individually against an absolute scale, the system inverts the approach by having users perform pairwise comparisons where they directly compare two items at a time and indicate their relative preference. This inversion eliminates the artificial absolute scale and allows for meaningful aggregation of relative preferences across multiple participants.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the preference establishment process into multiple pairwise comparison tasks rather than requiring a single comprehensive scoring action. By breaking down the complex task of rating multiple items into simpler pairwise comparisons, the system maintains ease of operation while improving measurement precision through direct relative judgment.
2Measurement precision
If analytic hierarchy process with multiple pairwise comparisons is used, then it addresses the drawbacks of scoring on a common scale, but it results in exponential growth in the number of comparisons required
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial action by allowing users to indicate only their preferred item in each pairwise comparison rather than requiring comprehensive scoring or multiple comparison rounds. This partial approach reduces the total number of comparisons needed while still capturing sufficient information for meaningful preference aggregation.
3Ease of operation
If simple ranking is used, then it provides a straightforward method for establishing preferences, but it does not provide insight on the magnitude of difference between any two items on the list
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback by using the results of pairwise comparisons to generate visualizations that show both the ranking order and the magnitude of preference differences between items. Each pairwise comparison provides feedback about the strength of preference, which is then aggregated to provide comprehensive insights into both ranking and preference intensity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for inputting a user rating in an electronically-presented space is disclosed. A user may position icons, which represent items for rating, in the electronically-presented space. For example, the user may position, using a mouse, the icons on a 2-D area on a display screen in order to rate the icons. Responsive to the positioning, the system may identify the positions of the icons, such as the positions of the icon within the 2-D area on the display screen, in order to determine the rating, such as a relative rating or an absolute rating. In this way, the method and system disclose a straightforward and simple way for users to input user preference in the electronically-presented space.