DSS/MIS

CPT 352 ~ Professor Bob Orr

 A Taxonomy of Systems
 Management Information Systems
* Storage and Retrieval Systems
 Data Warehousing
 Data Mining
* Standard Accounting/Reporting Systems

General usage is to inform or to support non-structured

or routine decision making in a corporate setting.

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 Taxonomy (cont’d)
 Decision Support Systems
* Basic Models
 Linear & Dynamic Programming
 Queueing Analysis and Simulation
 Statistical forecasting & Stochastic Processes
* Tailored Systems
* Hybrid Systems
All DSS aid in the decision making process.
Most are suggestive (non-directed) in nature.

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 Taxonomy (cont’d)
 Executive Information Systems
Similar to DSS but scope is much more broad.
 Expert Systems
Require use of Artificial Intelligence stratagems.

 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Integrates key business and management processes
to provide a sky-level view of what is going on.

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 Decision Making Model

Decision Implementation
Process Process

Outcomes

Assessment MIS

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 Framework for DSS
 Software designed to model the human
decision making process
* Requires analysis of the decisions and
necessary supporting information
 Emphasis is on the decisions and not the
information systems as the latter exist to
support the former

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Robert Anthony's Model

Strategic
Planning

Management
Control

Operational Control

Source: Robert N. Anthony, 1965

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 Decision Focus
 Strategic Level
* Needs to predict the future of the
organization and its environment
 Managerial Level
* Focus is on the efficient and effective use of resources
to accomplish company objectives
 Operational Level
* Focuses on efficient and effective task management

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 Information Requirements

Charac- Operational Management Strategic

teristic Control Control Planning

Source Internal External

Scope Well-defined Broad
Aggregation Detailed Summary

Timeline Historical Future

Currency Very current Quite old

Accuracy High Low

Frequency Very frequent Infrequent
of Use
Source: G. A.. Gorry & M. S. Scott Morton, 1971

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 Why MIS Fail as DSS
 Total
Total Systems
Systems Approach
Approach isis too
too
cumbersome
cumbersome
 Most
Most data
data collection
collection focuses
focuses on
on
operational
operational control
control
 Very
Very difficult
difficult to
to convert
convert the
the same
same data
data
into
into requirements
requirements of of each
each decision
decision level
level

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 Simon’s Decision Taxonomy
 Programmed Decisions
* Repetitive
* Routine
* Algorithmic
 Non-programmed Decisions
* Novel
* Unstructured
* Consequential

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 Gorry-Scott Morton Modification

 Non-programmed = Non-Structured

 Semi-Structured is added

 Programmed = Structured

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 Anthony & Simon Combined
Operational Management Strategic
Control Control Planning

Accts Receivable Budget Fleet Mix

Structured Analysis
Order Entry
Short-term Facility
Inventory Control Forecasting Location
Semi-
structured Scheduling ANOVA Mergers &
Overall Budget Acquisitions
Cash Management
Budget Preparation New Product
Un- Planning
structured PERT-COST Sales &
Systems Production R&D Planning

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 Design Considerations
 Structured and semi-structured
decisions lend themselves
to automation

 Unstructured decisions
require sophisticated
interactive models

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 Some DSS Characteristics
 Includes descriptive and other types of
knowledge
 Ability to acquire and maintain these
types
 Presents knowledge on an ad hoc basis in
customized ways

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 Some DSS Characteristics
 Can select any desired subset of stored
knowledge for presentation or derivation
during problem recognition/solving
 Interacts directly with decision maker
who can control the choice or sequencing
of knowledge

NOTE: There are variations in these characteristics

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 DSS Benefits
 Augments decision maker’s innate
knowledge handling abilities
 Allows decision maker to tackle problems
that are otherwise too complex or time
consuming
 Reaches solutions more quickly and more
reliably than a decision maker can alone

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 DSS Benefits (cont’d)
 Can stimulate thoughts about the problem even
if it cannot be solved
* Exploratory data analysis
* Possible advice or suggestions
 Decision maker’s participation in the design of
the DSS can reveal new ways of viewing the
decision/problem domain – can lead to
formalization of the decision process
 Justify the decision maker’s importance
 Competitive Edge

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 DSS Limitations
 Unable to replicate some knowledge
management skills/talents of the decision
maker
 May be too specific or localized
 May not match the decision maker’s mode of
expression or perception
 Cannot overcome an incompetent decision
maker
 Constrained by the knowledge it possesses

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 DSS Attributes
 System Restrictiveness

 Decisional Guidance

Source: Mark S. Silver [1990]

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DSS Designers: Change Agents
 “Directed” Change
* attempts to influence the specific changes that
will occur in the organization

 “Nondirected” Change
* allows decision makers to control the direction
any changes will take

Source: Mark S. Silver [1990]

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 Gerrity’s DSS Design Model

Descriptive Normative
Model Model

Designer’s view: Designer’s view:

Current process How decision
should be made

Functional
What the Designer builds
Model

Source: Mark S. Silver [1990]

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 DSS Attributes
 System Restrictiveness
* degree of freedom the user has

 Decisional Guidance
* Meta-choice Deciding HOW to decide
* Executional-choice Deciding how to operate

Source: Mark S. Silver [1990]

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 System Restrictiveness
Source: Mark S. Silver [1990]

All possible
processes

All supported
processes

Decide what should be omitted, not solely what should be included.

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 Restriction Tactics
 Omit certain functions
 Constrain the order of operator
invocation
 Limit user control over parametric
settings
 Require certain functions to be
performed in a specified sequence
Source: Mark S. Silver [1990]

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 A Word of Caution

The most important design objective is to implement

a system that will be useful and used .

Too much or too little restrictiveness may

discourage the system from being used.

Source: Mark S. Silver [1990]

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 Objects that Favor
Restrictivity
 Prescription ~ imposes techniques

 Proscription ~ prohibits certain methods

 Structuring the Decision making process

 Fostering Structured Learning

Source: Mark S. Silver [1990]

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Objects that Promote Freedom
 Provide broad repertoire of DSS Tools

 Support Changing or Multiple Decision-making

Environments

 Promote Creativity

 Foster Exploratory Learning

Source: Mark S. Silver [1990]

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 Decisional Guidance
 Mechanical Guidance
How do you operate the system?

 Decision-making Guidance
How do you make the best decisions?

Source: Mark S. Silver [1990]

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 Forms of Guidance
Guidance
Source: Mark S. Silver [1990]

Mechanical Decisional

Structuring Executing

Both use suggestive and informative approaches

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 Requirements for Guidance
 Opportunity
* less restrictive = greater opportunity
 Motive
* does designer want to influence the decision?
* Does designer wish to be supportive
 Means
* decisions are contextual

Source: Mark S. Silver [1990]

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