A Decision Support System for Recommending Authentic Sweet Tuak Using the AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) Method

Abstract

Technological development has shifted the assessment of food and beverage quality from a subjective process toward a more systematic and objective one. Tuak manis, a traditional sweet palm-sap beverage from Tamansari Village, West Lombok, Indonesia, is still evaluated subjectively, resulting in inconsistent quality judgements among producers. This study aims to design a web-based Decision Support System (DSS) that objectively assesses and ranks the quality of original tuak manis using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Primary data were collected through observation, interviews, and questionnaires distributed to farmers, sellers, and consumers in Tamansari Village, while the system was developed using the Waterfall model, covering requirement analysis, design, implementation, verification, and maintenance. Four evaluation criteria were used, namely taste, color, aroma, and clarity, weighted through pairwise comparison and tested for consistency (CI = 0.063; CR = 0.070 ≤ 0.1), confirming that the judgements were logically consistent. The calculation results show that taste obtained the highest weight (0.477), followed by color (0.226), aroma (0.189), and clarity (0.108). Based on the overall AHP score, Alternative 1 achieved the highest final score (0.367), followed by Alternative 3 (0.273), Alternative 2 (0.261), and Alternative 4 (0.098). Black Box Testing confirmed that all system functions operated as expected, and a user satisfaction survey involving 15 respondents recorded an average satisfaction rate of 89.56%, categorized as very good. These findings indicate that the AHP-based DSS is capable of producing objective, consistent, and reliable quality rankings, and is feasible for use as a decision-support tool for both consumers and producers of original tuak manis.