Essay: Decision Support Systems

Ans: Decision Support System introduce to a class of systems which support in the process of decision making and does not always give a decision itself. Decision Support Systems (DSS) are a particular class of computerized information system that supports business and organizational decision making events.
The DSS basically helps in the information system in the intellect phase where the objective is to classify the problem and then go to the design phase for solution. The choice of selection rightness varies from problem to problem.
It is therefore, need to go through these phases again and again till satisfactory solution is recovered. In the following three phase cycle, you may use analysis, inquiry, and models and accounting system to come to rational solution.
These systems are helpful where the decision maker calls for complex operation of data and use of certain system to reach an acceptable solution using different analysis approach. The decision support system helps in making a decision and also in performance analysis. DSS can be erected around the rule in case of programmable decision situation. The rules are not fixed or prearranged and requires every time the user to go through the decision making cycle as marked in Herbert Simon model.
A accurately designed DSS is an interactive software based system proposed to help decision makers assemble useful information from raw data, documents, personal knowledge, and/or business models to identify and resolve problems and make decisions
DSS Characteristics
Decision support system has a number of characteristics, which involve following:
a.DSS provide support for decision maker:
Largely in semi structured and unstructured situations by bringing together human judgment and computerized information. Such problem cannot be resolved (cannot be solved suitably) by other computerized systems, such as MIS.
DSS experiments to improve the influence of decision-making (timeliness, truthfulness, quality) rather than its competency (cost of making the decision, assembly the charges for computer time)
b. DSS provides support to individuals as well as to groups:
Many organizational problems contain group decision-making. The less planned problem frequently need the involvement of several individuals from different departments and organizational levels.
-Advanced DSS are prepared by a knowledge component which assists the efficient and effective solution of very complex problems. A DSS can bare large amount of data for occasion advanced database management package have allowed decision makers, to search database for information. A DSS can also resolve problems where a small amount of data is need. A DSS can be developed using a modular method.
With this method, loose functions of the DSS are placed in separate modules – program or subroutines-allowing efficient testing and execute of systems. It also allows various modules to be used for multiple benefits in different systems.
c. A DSS has a graphical orientation:
It has often been told that a picture is cost a thousand words. Today’s decision support systems can help managers make charming, informational graphical presentations on computer screens and on printed documents. Many of today’s software packages can fertile line drawing, pie chart, trend line and more. This graphical orientation can help decision makers a better understanding of the true location in a given market place.
d.A DSS support optimization and heuristic approach:
For smaller problems, DSS has the capacity to find the best (optimal) situation. For more complicated problems, heuristics are used. With heuristic, the computer system can verify a very good-but not necessarily the best- solution. This method gives the decision maker a great deal of adjustability in getting computer support for decision making events.