Decision Support Systems
Decision Support Systems (DSS) are a specific class of computerized information system that supports business and organizational decision-making activities. A properly designed DSS is an interactive software-based system intended to help decision makers compile useful information from raw data, documents, personal knowledge, and/or business models to identify and solve problems and make decisions.
Typical information that a decision support application might gather and present would be:
- Accessing all of your current information assets, including legacy and relational data sources, cubes, data warehouses, and data marts
- Comparative sales figures between one week and the next
- Projected revenue figures based on new product sales assumptions
- The consequences of different decision alternatives, given past experience in a context that is described
- A DSS supports all phases of decision making and may include a knowledge component
- A DSS can be used by a single user on a PC or can be Web-based for use by many people at several locations’ typical information that a decision support application might gather and present would be.
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Characteristics and capabilities of DSS
- DSS provide support for decision makers mainly semi structured and unstructured situations by bringing together human judgment and computer.
- Support is provided for various managerial levels.
- Support is provided to individuals as well as to groups.
- DSS provide support to several interdependent and sequential decisions.
- It supports all phases of the decision-making process.
- DSS attempt to improve the effectiveness of decision making.
- Decision maker has complete control over all steps of the decision-making process in solving a problem.
- A DSS usually utilizes models for analyzing decision-making situations.
Types of Decision Support Systems (DSS)
There are a number of Decision Support Systems. These can be categorized into five types:
- Communication-driven DSS - Most communications-driven DSSs are targeted at internal teams, including partners. Its purpose is to help conduct a meeting, or for users to collaborate. The most common technology used to deploy the DSS is a web or client server. Examples: chats and instant messaging software’s, online collaboration and net-meeting systems.
- Data-driven DSS - Most data-driven DSSs are targeted at managers, staff and also product/service suppliers. It is used to query a database or data warehouse to seek specific answers for specific purposes. It is deployed via a main frame system, client/server link, or via the web. Examples: computer-based databases that have a query system to check (including the incorporation of data to add value to existing databases.
- Document-driven DSS - Document-driven DSSs are more common, targeted at a broad base of user groups. The purpose of such a DSS is to search web pages and find documents on a specific set of keywords or search terms. The usual technologies used to set up such DSSs are via the web or a client/server system.
- Knowledge-driven DSS: Knowledge-driven DSSs or 'knowledgebase' are they are known, are a catch-all category covering a broad range of systems covering users within the organization setting it up, but may also include others interacting with the organization - for example, consumers of a business. It is essentially used to provide management advice or to choose products/services. The typical deployment technology used to set up such systems could be silent/server systems, the web, or software running on stand-alone PCs.
- Model-driven DSS - Model-driven DSSs are complex systems that help analyze decisions or choose between different options. These are used by managers and staff members of a business, or people who interact with the organization, for a number of purposes depending on how the model is set up - scheduling, decision analyses etc. These DSSs can be deployed via software/hardware in stand-alone PCs, client/server systems, or the web.
Components of Decision Support Systems
Decision support systems vary greatly in application and complexity, but they all share specific features. Typical Decision support system has four components - data management, model management, knowledge management and user interface management.
- Data Management Component - The data management component performs the function of storing and maintaining the information that you want your Decision Support System to use. The data management component, therefore, consists of both the Decision Support System information and the Decision Support System database management system. The information you use in your Decision Support System comes from one or more of three sources:
- Organizational information - you may want to use virtually any information available in the organization for your Decision Support System. What you use, of course, depends on what you need and whether it is available. You can design your Decision Support System to access this information directly from your company’s database and data warehouse. However, specify information is often copied to the Decision Support System database to save time in searching through the organization’s database and data warehouses.
- External information - some decisions require input from external sources of information. Various branches of federal government, Dow Jones, Compustat data, and the internet, to mention just a few, can provide additional information for the use with a Decision Support System.
- Personal information - you can incorporate your own insights and experience your personal information into your Decision Support System. You can design your Decision Support System so that you enter this personal information only as needed, or you can keep the information in a personal database that is accessible by the Decision Support system.
- Model Management Component
- The model management component consists of both the Decision Support System models and the Decision Support System model management system. A model is a representation of some event, fact, or situation. As it is not always practical, or wise, to experiment with reality, people build models and use them for experimentation. Models can take various forms.
- Businesses use models to represent variables and their relationships. For example, you would use a statistical model called analysis of variance to determine whether newspaper, TV, and billboard advertising are equally effective in increasing sales.
- Decision Support Systems help in various decision-making situations by utilizing models that allow you to analyze information in many different ways. The models you use in a Decision Support System depend on the decision you are making and, consequently, the kind of analysis you require. For example, you would use what if analysis to see what effect the change of one or more variables will have on other variables, or optimization to find the most profitable solution given operating restrictions and limited resources. Spreadsheet software such as excel can be used as a Decision Support System for what-if analysis.
- The model management system stores and maintains the Decision Support System’s models. Its function of managing models is similar to that of a database management system. The model management component cannot select the best model for you to use for a particular problem that requires your expertise but it can help you create and manipulate models quickly and easily.
- User Interface Management Component - The user interface management component allows you to communicate with the Decision Support System. It consists of the user interface management system. This is the component that allows you to combine your know-how with the storage and processing capabilities of the computer. The user interface is the part of the system you see through it when enter information, commands, and models. This is the only component of the system with which you have direct contract. If you have a Decision Support System with a poorly designed user interface, if it is too rigid or too cumbersome to use, you simply won’t use it no matter what its capabilities. The best user interface uses your terminology and methods and is flexible, consistent, simple, and adaptable.
- Knowledge Management Component - The knowledge management component, like that in an expert system, provides information about the relationship among data that is too complex for a database to represent. It consists of rules that can constrain possible solution as well as alternative solutions and methods for evaluating them.
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