Evaluating the negotiation template with sipres – a fusion of the revised Simos’ procedure and the ZAPROS method

In a negotiation process, building a negotiation offer scoring system consistent with the preferences of the decision-maker is a very intricate task. A variety of methods can be used to develop such a negotiation support tool, e.g. SAW and TOPSIS, but they have several disadvantages. In this paper the issue of evaluating the negotiation template using a novel tool called SIPRES is discussed. The algorithm proposed employs the key notions of the revised Simos' procedure and ZAPROS method to elicit the negotiator's preferences over some reference solutions. On the one hand, it allows decision-makers to define their preferences in a simple and effortless way and provides a straightforward yet effective method for analyzing the trade-offs between the alternatives using selected reference alternatives only (the ZAPROS-like approach). On the other hand, the revised Simos' procedure applied in the method allows determining the cardinal scores for the alternatives. The scoring system obtained this way makes it possible to conduct a sophisticated symmetric and asymmetric negotiation analysis. An illustrative example presented in the paper concerns the European Union's multiannual financial framework negotiations.