Behavioural and Systemic Extensions of the Even‐Swaps Method: Emergent Behaviour, Inventive Logic and Multiswap Chains

ABSTRACT ‘Even‐Swaps’ is a distinguished method for simplifying multicriteria decisions by eliminating dominated alternatives through value‐equivalent substitutions. However, real‐world decisions are rarely that linear. People change their minds, reinterpret priorities and sometimes even reshape the problem itself. This paper proposes three novel extensions of the Even‐Swaps method that better reflect these behavioural and conceptual dynamics. ‘Emergent Behaviour Even‐Swaps’ (EBES) captures how preferences shift over time by modelling decisions as paths through a network of trade‐offs. ‘Multiswap Chains’ (MSC) introduces intermediate comparisons to bridge hard‐to‐compare options. ‘Inventive Even‐Swaps’ (IES) uses contradiction analysis and TRIZ inventive principles to create new alternatives by rethinking constraints. Together, these methods turn decision‐making into a more adaptive, creative process. Rather than aiming for a final ranking alone, the goal is to understand how decisions evolve, what shapes them and how inventive reasoning can play a role. This study contributes to the behavioural decision‐making literature by reframing Even‐Swaps not just as a selection tool, but as a dynamic process that integrates emergent preferences, structural adjustments and inventive reasoning.