An Empirical Study Of Decision Support Systems
Sid L. Huff, Suzanne Rivard, Andrew A. Grindlay, I.P. Suttie · INFOR Information Systems and Operational Research · 1984
Study of Decision Support Systems has suffered isomewhat from a dearth of empirical data about their development and use. This paper reports the results of a survey used to gather detailed data on 131 DSS. AS well as providing useful descriptive information about current Dss activity, the data obtained are used to examine a ntimber of specific issues. First, a study is made of the current-day appropriateness of the taxonomy of DSS originally developed by Alter. Generally speaking, this taxonomy is found to provide an effective categorization of the systems stud.ied here. The definition of DSS if also examined from the users’ viewpoint, and it is found that certain aspects of the definitions frequently occurring in the DSS literature do not materialize in the sample. Thirds the role of data processing departments in developing and implementing BSS is investigated, and it is found that this role has changed considerably from that reported in earlier studies. Finally, a model of the impact of each DSS type upon the stages ofthe decision making process is proposed herein. The viability of that model is analysed using the data obtained from Ithe survey.