TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) is a multi-criteria decision analysis method that helps in ranking alternatives based on their distance to the ideal solution. Below are the steps of the TOPSIS method, along with the required formulas.

### Step 1: Construct the Decision Matrix

You start by constructing a decision matrix with \( m \) alternatives and \( n \) criteria. Let the decision matrix be denoted as \( D = [x_{ij}] \), where \( x_{ij} \) is the performance of the \( i \)-th alternative on the \( j \)-th criterion.

### Step 2: Normalize the Decision Matrix

The decision matrix is normalized to bring all criteria to a comparable scale. The normalization is done using the Euclidean norm. The normalized value \( r_{ij} \) is calculated as:

 r_{ij} = \frac{x_{ij}}{\sqrt{\sum_{i=1}^{m} x_{ij}^2}}

Where:
– \( x_{ij} \) is the original value of the decision matrix,
– \( m \) is the number of alternatives.

### Step 3: Calculate the Weighted Normalized Decision Matrix

Once normalized, the next step is to multiply the normalized decision matrix by the corresponding weights of each criterion. Let \( w_j \) be the weight of the \( j \)-th criterion. The weighted normalized value \( v_{ij} \) is calculated as:

 v_{ij} = w_j \cdot r_{ij}

Where:
– \( w_j \) is the weight of the \( j \)-th criterion,
– \( r_{ij} \) is the normalized value from Step 2.

### Step 4: Determine the Ideal and Negative-Ideal Solutions

The positive ideal solution \( A^+ \) and the negative ideal solution \( A^- \) are defined as follows:

– The positive ideal solution \( A^+ \) is composed of the best values for each criterion:
 A^+ = \left\{ \left( \max v_{ij} \ \text{for benefit criteria} \right), \ \left( \min v_{ij} \ \text{for cost criteria} \right) \right\}

– The negative ideal solution \( A^- \) is composed of the worst values for each criterion:
 A^- = \left\{ \left( \min v_{ij} \ \text{for benefit criteria} \right), \ \left( \max v_{ij} \ \text{for cost criteria} \right) \right\}

### Step 5: Calculate the Separation Measures

The separation of each alternative from the positive ideal solution \( S_i^+ \) and the negative ideal solution \( S_i^- \) is calculated using the Euclidean distance:

– Separation from the positive ideal solution:
 S_i^+ = \sqrt{\sum_{j=1}^{n} \left( v_{ij} - A_j^+ \right)^2}

– Separation from the negative ideal solution:
 S_i^- = \sqrt{\sum_{j=1}^{n} \left( v_{ij} - A_j^- \right)^2}

Where:
– \( A_j^+ \) is the positive ideal value for criterion \( j \),
– \( A_j^- \) is the negative ideal value for criterion \( j \).

### Step 6: Calculate the Relative Closeness to the Ideal Solution

The relative closeness of each alternative to the ideal solution is denoted as \( C_i^* \) and is calculated as:

 C_i^* = \frac{S_i^-}{S_i^+ + S_i^-}

Where:
– \( C_i^* \) is the relative closeness to the ideal solution,
– \( S_i^+ \) is the separation from the positive ideal solution,
– \( S_i^- \) is the separation from the negative ideal solution.

### Step 7: Rank the Alternatives

Finally, the alternatives are ranked based on the relative closeness value \( C_i^* \). The higher the value of \( C_i^* \), the closer the alternative is to the ideal solution, and thus, the higher the ranking.

These are the essential steps and formulas of the TOPSIS method, which provides a systematic approach for multi-criteria decision-making.