Transcript Decision Support Systems

Decision
Support
Systems
MGMT 661 - Summer 2012
Night #7, Part 2
somewhat based on Chapter 12
Types of Decisions

Structured
 routine
(maybe even repetitive)
 definite procedure

Unstructured
 no
agreed upon procedure
refer back to
"Types of Information"
in Part #1
Decision Support Systems

supports semi-structured and unstructured
problem analysis
 probably
overkill for structured problems

usually model driven

allows to ask "What if?"
Simple DSS Examples

Car Selection
 how
many miles do you drive?
 preferred style?
 do you have kids?
 yadda yadda yadda

Inventory Replenishment
 past
usage (data from accounting database)
 projected need (information from CRM)
 delivery time (model from Supply Chain system)
 "what if" we delay purchase two weeks?
DSS Components

Input
 TPS
Data
 Other Internal Data

e.g. forecasts, reports, spreadsheet
calculations
 External
Data

Model

Analysis Software
 OLAP
and data mining
 Easy to Use Interface
DSS Models

Well Known Relationships
 layout of production facility
 Supply Chain
 Organizational Chart
 decision tables
 spreadsheet

calculations
Mathematical Models
Decision
Variables
Uncontrollable
Variables
Mathematical
Relationship
Result
Variables
DSS Caveats

DSS improve effectiveness, not efficiency.

Some people consider group communication tools to be
a type of DSS.
DSS v. Expert Systems

A human queries a DSS, while an ES queries a human.

A DSS assists in decision making, while an ES makes
decisions.

A DSS is for semi-structured problems, but an ES only
works well in highly structured domains.
Geographic Information Systems

special category of DSS

combines large
databases and maps
Screenshot of ArcView
www.ncddc.noaa.gov/technology/gis/view
Executive Support Systems

"Balanced Scorecard"

info displayed as a "Dashboard" with drill down abilities
for more detail

key performance indicators
textbook Figure 12-8
balancedscorecard.org
dashboardspy.com
Supporting the
5 Functions of Management
1. Planning
 TPS
2. Organizing
 Customer
3. Coordinating
4. Deciding
5. Controlling
 Supply
Rel. Mgmt
Chain Mgmt
 Enterprise
Knowledge
Mgmt
 Expert
Systems
 Decision
Systems
Support
Next Time:
 Your presentations
 How software gets built
Paper Ideas from Tonight:




Survey of Commercial Executive Scorecard Systems
Survey of Commercial Enterprise Knowledge
Management Systems
Two or Three cases of Successful Expert Systems
used in Business
Cases of using GIS for Decision Support