Decision Support

Systems
 Objectives
• What is Decision Support System (DSS)?
• Decision Structure
• Decision Support System Characteristics
• Components of DSS
• Classification of DSS
• Benefits of DSS
What is Decision Support System?
An interactive, flexible
computerized
information system that
enables managers to
obtain and manipulate
information as they are
making decisions.
What is Decision Support System?
• DSS is an interactive software-based
system intended to help decision
makers compile useful information
from raw data, documents, personal
knowledge, and/or business models
to identify and solve problems and
make decisions.
Information required at different
management levels
 Levels of Management in Decision
Making
Strategic management
Executives develop organizational goals, strategies,
policies, and objectives
As part of a strategic planning process

Tactical management
Managers and business professionals in self-directed
teams
Develop short- and medium-range plans, schedules
and budgets
Specify the policies, procedures and business
objectives for their subunits
 Levels of Management in
Decision Making
• Operational management
– Managers or members of self-directed teams

– Develop short-range plans such as weekly

production schedules
 Decision Structure
• Structured Decisions – situations where the
procedures to follow when a decision is needed can
be specified in advance
• Unstructured Decisions – decision situations where
it is not possible to specify in advance most of the
decision procedures to follow
• Semi structured Decisions - decision procedures
that can be prespecified, but not enough to lead to a
definite recommended decision
 DSS System Characteristics
Interactive
Interactive

Flexible
Flexible

Discovery-Oriented
Discovery-Oriented
Characteristics
Characteristics
of
of aa
DSS
DSS System
System Accessible
Accessible
 COMPONENTS OF DSS

DSS DATA EXTERNAL

TPS DATA
BASE

DSS SOFTWARE SYSTEM

MODELS
USER
INTERFACE OLAP TOOLS
DATAMINING TOOLS

USER
 Classification of DSS

• Model-driven DSS

• Communication-driven DSS

• Data-driven DSS

• Document-driven DSS

• Knowledge-driven DSS
 Model-driven DSS
• A model-driven DSS emphasizes access to
and manipulation of a statistical, financial,
optimization, or simulation model.

• Model-driven DSS use data and parameters

provided by users to assist decision makers in
analyzing a situation; they are not necessarily
data-intensive.
 Communication-driven DSS

• A communication-driven DSS
supports more than one person
working on a shared task
 Data-driven DSS

• A data-driven DSS or data-oriented DSS

emphasizes access to and manipulation of
a time series of internal company data
and, sometimes, external data
 Document-driven DSS

• A document-driven DSS manages,

retrieves, and manipulates unstructured
information in a variety of electronic
formats.
 Knowledge-driven DSS

• A knowledge-driven DSS provides

specialized problem-solving expertise
stored as facts, rules, procedures, or in
similar structures
 Benefits of DSS
Improves personal efficiency

Accelerate problem solving

Facilitates interpersonal communication

Promotes learning or training

Increases organizational control

Generates new evidence in support of a decision

Creates a competitive advantage over competition

Reveals new approaches to thinking about the problem space

THANK
YOU