| Intensity of importance | Definition | Explanation |
| 1 | Equal importance | Two activities contribute equally to the objective |
| 3 | Moderate importance | Experience and judgment slightly favor one activity over another |
| 5 | Strong importance | Experience and judgment strongly favor one activity over another |
| 7 | Very strong or demonstrated importance | An activity is favored very strongly over another; its dominance demonstrated in practice |
| 9 | Extreme importance | The evidence favoring one activity over another is of the highest possible order of affirmation |
| 2, 4, 6, 8 |
| Intermediate values |