A choice model for the product design problem based on the outranking approach

New product design is critical for the long-term profitability and competitiveness of companies. Even though many optimization algorithms have been applied for solving the problem, most of them adopt choice models based on utilities to simulate the consumer's choice behavior. However, there could also be other choice models that are not dependent on utilities. In this paper, we propose a choice model based on the outranking approach that can be used with algorithms that solve the optimal product design problem, using the share of choices criterion. Our model deals with preference heterogeneity among consumers, while the model's predictive accuracy is optimized using Genetic Algorithms.