A decision support system is integral to any company’s ability to run efficiently. A decision support system is a set of related computer programs and the data required to assist with analysis and decision making within an organization. (1) There are several types of decision support systems that a company can choose.
Data driven decision support systems deal with collected data that is manipulated to fit the decision maker’s needs. Data can be internal, external, current or historic. (2) This data is stored in data warehouses and analyzed by the process of data mining. This helps find patterns in the data that a company can use to optimize its sales and marketing campaigns. (3)
Communications-driven DSS puts an importance on communications, collaboration and shared decision making. A communications-driven DSS can enable communication between groups of people; facilitate the sharing of information, support coordination between people and support group decision tasks. Examples are audio conferencing, bulletin boards, web conferencing, document sharing, email and video conferencing. (4)
Document-driven DSS’s are the most common support programs with its main function being searching web pages and looking for documents with certain keywords or terms. They are specifically designed to convert documents into important business data and make use of data that is not easily stored or standardized. (5) Examples are policies and procedures, product specifications, catalogs, and corporate historical documents. (6)
Knowledge-driven DSS can help a manager make the correct decision by suggesting possible solutions. This DDS is a system with specialized problem solving expertise. This comes from knowledge about a particular subject, understanding of the problem within the subject and the tools at solving the problem. This system has been used for diagnosing medical conditions, scheduling in manufacturing and as a web-based advisory system. (6)
Decision Support Systems can be used in many aspects of business and life. They can be extremely helpful in improving efficiency and cutting costs. Ultimately they are only support systems and people must not forget that a person is ultimately responsible for the decisions they make.
2. http://www.tech-faq.com/decision-support-system.html
http://dssresources.com/history/dsshistory.html
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