A New Hybrid Decision Support Tool for Evaluating the Sustainability of Mining Projects

The integration of sustainable development challenges and opportunities into the decision making process during the design and/or implementation of multi-disciplinary mining projects is generally not supported by decision support systems (DSS). A new hybrid decision support tool, which features an integrated assessment of sustainable development issues as they apply to mining projects, is hereby proposed. The proposed DSS framework, named “Acropolis DSS”, can be used to assist involved stakeholders in critical decisions, especially when addressing issues such as stakeholder participation, transparency, and trade-offs. The proposed DSS is based on a multi-criteria decision analysis combined with the multi-attribute utility theory

Identifying Appropriate MIS/DSS Support: A Cost Analysis Approach

This paper describes a microeconomic theory-based tool, called cost analysis, which can be used in MIS research to develop guidance for systems analysts and information resource managers. An example of this guidance is a matrix of decision making contexts versus appropriate MIS/DSS support. Systems analysts can use this matrix to help identify appropriate MIS/DSS design alternatives. Information resource managers can use this matrix to help plan for the proper evolution of MIS/DSS support

A Comparison of Hybrid Decision Making Methods for Emergency Support

Abstract A situation consisting in evaluating and choosing among alternative actions can be managed from the point of view of Decision Making (DM). This paper presents an approach to design and develop Decision Support Systems (DSS) to be applied in emergency situations. In these situations the decision maker is under heavy stress because each different decision implies different important outcomes related with human and economic losses. First of all, a domain knowledge base has to be built from both the properties of emergency situations and the actions devoted to counteract them. From this knowledge, three different DM methods, based on the Probability Theory and the Possibility Theory, process the incoming emergency information and choose the best action for putting out the emergency situation. The resulting decisions of each method over a set of plausible emergency situations can be evaluated by a domain expert and the method with the best average performance can be built in the DSS. This DSS can help a decision maker find out an optimal decision in a short period of time maximizing security and minimizing stress.Peer reviewe

Decision support framework for procurement system in University of Babylon

The procurement activities in organisations typically involve critical decisions made by managers. In order to make a good decision, they need to assess certain relevant criteria. Procurement decision-making faces several challenges such as selecting the best vendor with the right mix of product, price and method to procure it. After studying three multi-criteria decision techniques that have been widely used in procurement decisions, namely, the multi-attribute utility theory, Linear Goal Programming and analytic hierarchy process techniques AHP which is the technique that identified as the foundation on which to build a decision support system for procurement decisions in the University of Babylon, Iraq as a case study. A prototype is developed to realise the use of this DSS framework at the university. The research attempts to address the issues regarding information fusion by automatically integrating multiple information sources to enhance the procurement decision-making process through empirical and theoretical findings on the interdependencies that characterise the relationships between information fusion and management decision-making. A pre-implementation study is carried out in order to ascertain the usefulness of this framework in promoting user-centred decisions by explaining the various influences of different decision-making on the information systems and procurement processes at the University of Babylon, Iraq. The major contribution of this study is to develop tools that aid practitioners in decisionmaking processes regarding procurement decisions such as DSS planning, DSS technique identification and implementation, and how to design a DSS framework. The outcome of this study can be applied across all systems engaged in decisionmaking processes regarding procurement

When decision support systems fail: insights for strategic information systems from Formula

Decision support systems (DSS) are sophisticated tools that increasingly take advantage of big data and are used to design and implement individual - and organization - level strategic decisions . Yet, when organizations excessively rely on their potential the outcome may be decision - making failure, particularly when such tools are applied under high pressure and turbulent conditions. Partial understanding and unidimensional interpretation can prevent learning from failure. Building on a practice perspective, we study an iconic case of strategic failure in Formula 1 racing. Our approach, which integrates the decision maker as well as the organizational and material context , identifies three interrelated sources of strategic failure that are worth investigation for decision - makers using DSS and big data: (1) t he situated nature and affordances of decision - making ; (2) t he distributed nature of cognition in decision - making; and (3) the performativity of the DSS. We outline specific research questions and their implications for firm performance and competitive advantage. Finally, we advance an agenda that can help close timely gaps in strategic IS research

A Dialectical Methodology For Decision Support Systems Design

As organizations continue to grow in size, reaching global proportions, they have ever increasing impacts on their environments. Some believe that a much broader array of concerns should be brought into organizational decision-making processes, including greater consideration of social, political, ethical and aesthetic factors (Mitroff and Linstone, 1993; Courtney, 2001). Decision environments such as these are decidedly wicked (Rittel and Webber, 1973). Designing decision support systems in such environments where there is a high level of interconnectedness, issues are overlapping and a multiplicity of stakeholders is involved, is a very complex task. In this dissertation a methodology for the development of a DSS for wicked situations is proposed using the design theory building process suggested by Walls et al. (1992). This proposed theory is based on dialectic theory and the multiple perspective approach suggested by Linstone and Mitroff (1993). The design process consists of identifying relevant stakeholders, their respective worldviews, and conflicts in these worldviews. A design (thesis) and counter design (antithesis) are created, and a prototype systems based on these designs are developed. These prototypes are then presented to the different stakeholder groups who engage in a dialogue which leads to the development of a synthesized design. The process is repeated until all conflicts are resolved or resources are exhausted, and a final system is produced. Using action research and system development research methodologies, the proposed design theory was applied to zoning decision process in Orange County, Florida. The results of this study led to the following: 1. It is feasible to implement the MPDP methodology proposed in this dissertation. 2. The MPDP methodology resulted in a synthesized design that accommodates the different views of the stakeholders. 3. The MPDP methodology is suitable for contentious situations and may not be feasible for structured decisions. 4. Most of the subjects did achieve a more understanding of the decision process. These results suggest that the MPDP design theory can be effective in developing decision support systems in contentious situations

Activating Values to Enhance e-Participation in Environmental Decision-making

A participatory modeling approach is designed to connect citizens and decision-makers during the selection of the most appropriate alternative solution to an environmental project based on user values systems. First, a novel approach to supporting values-based decision-making is proposed in which values activation is prompted using visual feedback and interactive modules in a software program. Next, the design parameters for a prototype software program called P2P-DSS are presented. P2P-DSS is designed in the style of an online survey, with the added capacity to activate values and provide a shared online space connecting individuals with a survey builder. In this thesis, P2P-DSS is proposed, designed, and then applied to a real-world example in environmental project evaluation. A formal decision-maker with a professional role in the evaluation of an aggregate mining application used P2P-DSS to build a model of the decision from their own perspective. Fifteen volunteers then used P2P-DSS to learn about the issue, provide their individual input in the form of ranked preferences for potential outcomes, and examine the role that values play in their own assessment of the project and the perspective of the model builder. P2P-DSS records every interaction with the software program and participants completed a post-task survey to assess aspects of the system’s performance from their perspective. By analyzing both revealed and stated preferences from the formal decision-maker and public participants, the capacity for the P2P-DSS technique to translate some of the known benefits of values-based thinking into a participatory online platform is indicated. This thesis then addresses the challenge of translating data collected from individuals into collective preference rankings that are useful for decision-makers. With reference to the aggregate mining example, participant input is aggregated using a Modified Borda Count technique. Thus, while values activation is facilitated in this study on an individual basis, the resulting input can be analyzed as group utilities, the possible implications of this information are examined in depth. Finally, a novel data set emerges from this research with implications for decision-making, communications, and conflict management. That is, a model builder calibrates a model by connecting specific values with option choices. Participants can then register a ‘values protest’ by using interactive software tools in P2P-DSS to challenge the values connections calibrated by the model builder. Values protests have implications for the preferences input by the participant and are stored by P2P-DSS as a data point. Next, analysis is conducted to isolate potential points of conflict based on emergent patterns in those protests. This new dataset reveals aspects of the decision context for which different groups do not have a shared understanding of how their decision-making is driven by their underlying values. Gaining insight into the roots of values-based conflicts can be useful for conflict prediction and management, strategic decision-making, and the fine tuning of communications by stakeholder groups. This dissertation examines the boundaries and opportunities for values-based participatory modeling. Specifically, through the design and testing of P2P-DSS this work operationalizes the theory of values activation, thereby expanding the reach of values-based decision-making in online settings. Moreover, by testing protocols to aggregate values-based preferences collected at the individual level into group utility rankings, the P2P-DSS approach is prepared to make contributions for group decision-making. Finally, a new type of data, values protests, is generated and discussed, demonstrating how it can be harnessed to understand and contribute to the management of values conflicts in issues of public interest. Finally, while presenting a novel approach to environmental research, this work also demonstrates that some of the perceived limitations of values research, that are discussed in this thesis, deserve reassessment, as the interactive capacity of software programs opens new avenues to expand the reach of values-based decision-making

Towards a Design Methodology for Decision Support Systems

The authors propose the use of process models for DSS design. The kind of process models suggested are task structures and decision structures with simple graphical syntax and semantics. The process models form the basis for a coherent DSS design methodology, based upon the bounded rationality paradigm. The history of DSS and DSS design is discussed to form a theoretical position. The resulting methodology has been tested and evaluated in a laboratory experiment. The results of this evaluation will be used for continuous improvement of the methodolog