Decision Support System Evolution: Predicting, Facilitating, and Managing Knowledge Evolution

Abstract

Decision support systems (DSSs) need to evolve over time for many reasons, including changing user needs, technologies, and problem understanding. This chapter investigates what constitutes DSS evolution, taking the view that DSS evolution means that changes occur in all aspects of those systems, including hardware, databases, user interface, applications, and knowledge. This chapter summarizes and extends some of the literature on evolution and it also summarizes some approaches designed to help manage DSS evolution, including both the prediction and facilitation of evolution.