Assessing Today: Determining the Decision Value of Decision Support Systems

Abstract

Decision support systems (DSS) have been assessed on the basis of single criteria such as the improvement in decision outcome, and using multiple criteria such as the perspectives of different stakeholders. This paper uses a systems approach to extend previous studies by linking the type of support provided to the decision maker with the specific DSS design characteristics needed to deliver those services. The proposed framework is implemented with the Analytic Hierarchy Process to measure the overall decision value of a DSS and determine the precise contributions of individual characteristics to the value. An applied problem in intelligent DSS is shown to demonstrate the ability of the extended evaluation approach to provide guidance for further DSS design, development, and implementation.