Decision Support Systems
February 19 – February 23
Four Phases of Decision Making :
oIn the intelligence phase, you recognize and detect signals or signs that a problem
is occurring or that an opportunity exists. Such signs might include customers
asking for a new feature in a product, raising costs, declining sales, etc (p. 181).
oIn the design phase, you develop as many possible ways to solve a problem or
take advantage of an opportunity (p. 181).
oIn the choice phase, you evaluate each possible solution and pick the best one (p.
181).
oIn the implementation phase, you implement the choice you made in the last step,
monitor the results, and make adjustments as necessary (p. 181).
oThe four phases do not have to be carried out in order. You may back up and
repeat steps as necessary (p. 181).
Types of Decisions:
oA structured decision involves processing a certain kind of information in a
specified way. No feel or intuition is necessary (p. 182).
oA nonstructured decision is one that has no precise way to get a right answer.
There are generally several “right” answers (p. 182).
oMost decision are a mix of structured and nonstructured (p. 182).
oA recurring decision is that happens repeatedly and you follow the same set of
rules each time (p. 182).
oA nonrecurring decision is one that you make infrequently and you may have to
make it using a different set of criteria each time (p. 182).
Decision Support Systems:
oA decision support system (DSS) is a highly flexible and interactive IT system
that is designed to support decision making when the problem is not structured
(p. 183).
oDSS is not designed to make a decision for you, but instead to provide a tool to
improve your effectiveness as a decision maker. You still must bring your own
judgment to the decision making process (p. 184).
