Decision support system
Encyclopedia
A decision support system (DSS) is a computer-based information system
that supports business or organizational decision-making activities. DSSs serve the management, operations, and planning levels of an organization and help to make decisions, which may be rapidly changing and not easily specified in advance.
DSSs include knowledge-based systems
. A properly designed DSS is an interactive software-based system intended to help decision makers compile useful information from a combination of raw data, documents, personal knowledge, or business models to identify and solve problems and make decisions.
Typical information that a decision support application might gather and present are:
during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the technical work on interactive computer systems, mainly carried out at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in the 1960s. It is considered that the concept of DSS became an area of research of its own in the middle of the 1970s, before gaining in intensity during the 1980s. In the middle and late 1980s, executive information systems (EIS), group decision support systems (GDSS), and organizational decision support systems (ODSS) evolved from the single user and model-oriented DSS.
According to Sol (1987) the definition and scope of DSS has been migrating over the years. In the 1970s DSS was described as "a computer based system to aid decision making". Late 1970s the DSS movement started focusing on "interactive computer-based systems which help decision-makers utilize data bases and models to solve ill-structured problems". In the 1980s DSS should provide systems "using suitable and available technology to improve effectiveness of managerial and professional activities", and end 1980s DSS faced a new challenge towards the design of intelligent workstations.
In 1987 Texas Instruments
completed development of the Gate Assignment Display System (GADS) for United Airlines
. This decision support system is credited with significantly reducing travel delays by aiding the management of ground operations at various airport
s, beginning with O'Hare International Airport
in Chicago
and Stapleton Airport in Denver Colorado
.
Beginning in about 1990, data warehousing
and on-line analytical processing (OLAP) began broadening the realm of DSS. As the turn of the millennium approached, new Web-based analytical applications were introduced.
The advent of better and better reporting technologies has seen DSS start to emerge as a critical component of management
design. Examples of this can be seen in the intense amount of discussion of DSS in the education environment.
DSS also have a weak connection to the user interface
paradigm of hypertext
. Both the University of Vermont
PROMIS
system (for medical decision making) and the Carnegie Mellon ZOG
/KMS
system (for military and business decision making) were decision support systems which also were major breakthroughs in user interface research. Furthermore, although hypertext
researchers have generally been concerned with information overload
, certain researchers, notably Douglas Engelbart
, have been focused on decision makers in particular
of DSS either. Different authors propose different classifications. Using the relationship with the user as the criterion, Haettenschwiler differentiates passive, active, and cooperative DSS. A passive DSS is a system that aids the process of decision making, but that cannot bring out explicit decision suggestions or solutions. An active DSS can bring out such decision suggestions or solutions. A cooperative DSS allows the decision maker (or its advisor) to modify, complete, or refine the decision suggestions provided by the system, before sending them back to the system for validation. The system again improves, completes, and refines the suggestions of the decision maker and sends them back to him for validation. The whole process then starts again, until a consolidated solution is generated.
Another taxonomy for DSS has been created by Daniel Power. Using the mode of assistance as the criterion, Power differentiates communication-driven DSS, data-driven DSS, document-driven DSS, knowledge-driven DSS, and model-driven DSS.
Using scope as the criterion, Power differentiates enterprise-wide DSS and desktop DSS. An enterprise-wide DSS is linked to large data warehouses and serves many managers in the company. A desktop, single-user DSS is a small system that runs on an individual manager's PC.
are:
The users themselves are also important components of the architecture.
DSS technology levels (of hardware and software) may include:
An iterative developmental approach allows for the DSS to be changed and redesigned at various intervals. Once the system is designed, it will need to be tested and revised for the desired outcome.
Holsapple and Whinston classify DSS into the following six frameworks: Text-oriented DSS, Database-oriented DSS, Spreadsheet-oriented DSS, Solver-oriented DSS, Rule-oriented DSS, and Compound DSS.
A compound DSS is the most popular classification for a DSS. It is a hybrid system that includes two or more of the five basic structures described by Holsapple and Whinston.
The support given by DSS can be separated into three distinct, interrelated categories: Personal Support, Group Support, and Organizational Support.
DSS components may be classified as:
DSSs which perform selected cognitive
decision-making functions and are based on artificial intelligence
or intelligent agent
s technologies are called Intelligent Decision Support Systems
(IDSS).
The nascent field of Decision engineering
treats the decision itself as an engineered object, and applies engineering principles such as Design
and Quality assurance
to an explicit representation of the elements that make up a decision.
One example is the clinical decision support system
for medical diagnosis
. Other examples include a bank loan officer verifying the credit of a loan applicant or an engineering firm that has bids on several projects and wants to know if they can be competitive with their costs.
DSS is extensively used in business and management. Executive dashboard and other business performance software allow faster decision making, identification of negative trends, and better allocation of business resources.
A growing area of DSS application, concepts, principles, and techniques is in agricultural production
, marketing for sustainable development
. For example, the DSSAT4 package, developed through financial support of USAID during the 80's and 90's, has allowed rapid assessment of several agricultural production systems around the world to facilitate decision-making at the farm and policy levels. There are, however, many constraints to the successful adoption on DSS in agriculture.
DSS are also prevalent in forest management
where the long planning time frame demands specific requirements. All aspects of Forest management, from log transportation, harvest scheduling to sustainability and ecosystem protection have been addressed by modern DSSs.
A specific example concerns the Canadian National Railway
system, which tests its equipment on a regular basis using a decision support system. A problem faced by any railroad is worn-out or defective rails, which can result in hundreds of derailment
s per year. Under a DSS, CN managed to decrease the incidence of derailments at the same time other companies were experiencing an increase.
Information system
An information system - or application landscape - is any combination of information technology and people's activities that support operations, management, and decision making. In a very broad sense, the term information system is frequently used to refer to the interaction between people,...
that supports business or organizational decision-making activities. DSSs serve the management, operations, and planning levels of an organization and help to make decisions, which may be rapidly changing and not easily specified in advance.
DSSs include knowledge-based systems
Expert system
In artificial intelligence, an expert system is a computer system that emulates the decision-making ability of a human expert. Expert systems are designed to solve complex problems by reasoning about knowledge, like an expert, and not by following the procedure of a developer as is the case in...
. A properly designed DSS is an interactive software-based system intended to help decision makers compile useful information from a combination of raw data, documents, personal knowledge, or business models to identify and solve problems and make decisions.
Typical information that a decision support application might gather and present are:
- inventories of information assets (including legacy and relational data sources, cubes, data warehouseData warehouseIn computing, a data warehouse is a database used for reporting and analysis. The data stored in the warehouse is uploaded from the operational systems. The data may pass through an operational data store for additional operations before it is used in the DW for reporting.A data warehouse...
s, and data martData martA data mart is the access layer of the data warehouse environment that is used to get data out to the users. The data mart is a subset of the data warehouse which is usually oriented to a specific business line or team.- Terminology :...
s), - comparative sales figures between one period and the next,
- projected revenue figures based on product sales assumptions.
History
According to Keen (1978), the concept of decision support has evolved from two main areas of research: The theoretical studies of organizational decision making done at the Carnegie Institute of TechnologyCarnegie Institute of Technology
The Carnegie Institute of Technology , is the name for Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering. It was first called the Carnegie Technical Schools, or Carnegie Tech, when it was founded in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie who intended to build a “first class technical school” in Pittsburgh,...
during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the technical work on interactive computer systems, mainly carried out at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in the 1960s. It is considered that the concept of DSS became an area of research of its own in the middle of the 1970s, before gaining in intensity during the 1980s. In the middle and late 1980s, executive information systems (EIS), group decision support systems (GDSS), and organizational decision support systems (ODSS) evolved from the single user and model-oriented DSS.
According to Sol (1987) the definition and scope of DSS has been migrating over the years. In the 1970s DSS was described as "a computer based system to aid decision making". Late 1970s the DSS movement started focusing on "interactive computer-based systems which help decision-makers utilize data bases and models to solve ill-structured problems". In the 1980s DSS should provide systems "using suitable and available technology to improve effectiveness of managerial and professional activities", and end 1980s DSS faced a new challenge towards the design of intelligent workstations.
In 1987 Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Inc. , widely known as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, United States, which develops and commercializes semiconductor and computer technology...
completed development of the Gate Assignment Display System (GADS) for United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
. This decision support system is credited with significantly reducing travel delays by aiding the management of ground operations at various airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
s, beginning with O'Hare International Airport
O'Hare International Airport
Chicago O'Hare International Airport , also known as O'Hare Airport, O'Hare Field, Chicago Airport, Chicago International Airport, or simply O'Hare, is a major airport located in the northwestern-most corner of Chicago, Illinois, United States, northwest of the Chicago Loop...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Stapleton Airport in Denver Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.
Beginning in about 1990, data warehousing
Data warehouse
In computing, a data warehouse is a database used for reporting and analysis. The data stored in the warehouse is uploaded from the operational systems. The data may pass through an operational data store for additional operations before it is used in the DW for reporting.A data warehouse...
and on-line analytical processing (OLAP) began broadening the realm of DSS. As the turn of the millennium approached, new Web-based analytical applications were introduced.
The advent of better and better reporting technologies has seen DSS start to emerge as a critical component of management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
design. Examples of this can be seen in the intense amount of discussion of DSS in the education environment.
DSS also have a weak connection to the user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
paradigm of hypertext
Hypertext
Hypertext is text displayed on a computer or other electronic device with references to other text that the reader can immediately access, usually by a mouse click or keypress sequence. Apart from running text, hypertext may contain tables, images and other presentational devices. Hypertext is the...
. Both the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
PROMIS
Problem-Oriented Medical Information System
The Problem-Oriented Medical Information System, or PROMIS, was a hypertext system specially designed for maintaining health care records. PROMIS was developed at the University of Vermont in 1976, primarily by Jan Schultz and Dr. Larry Weed...
system (for medical decision making) and the Carnegie Mellon ZOG
ZOG (hypertext)
ZOG was an early hypertext system developed at Carnegie Mellon University during the 1970s by Donald McCracken and Robert Akscyn. ZOG was first developed by Allen Newell and George Robertson to serve as the front end for AI and Cognitive Science programs brought together at CMU for a summer workshop...
/KMS
KMS (hypertext)
KMS, an abbreviation of Knowledge Management System, was a commercial second generation hypermedia system, originally created as a successor for the early hypermedia system ZOG...
system (for military and business decision making) were decision support systems which also were major breakthroughs in user interface research. Furthermore, although hypertext
Hypertext
Hypertext is text displayed on a computer or other electronic device with references to other text that the reader can immediately access, usually by a mouse click or keypress sequence. Apart from running text, hypertext may contain tables, images and other presentational devices. Hypertext is the...
researchers have generally been concerned with information overload
Information overload
"Information overload" is a term popularized by Alvin Toffler in his bestselling 1970 book Future Shock. It refers to the difficulty a person can have understanding an issue and making decisions that can be caused by the presence of too much information...
, certain researchers, notably Douglas Engelbart
Douglas Engelbart
Douglas Carl Engelbart is an American inventor, and an early computer and internet pioneer. He is best known for his work on the challenges of human-computer interaction, resulting in the invention of the computer mouse, and the development of hypertext, networked computers, and precursors to GUIs...
, have been focused on decision makers in particular
Taxonomies
As with the definition, there is no universally-accepted taxonomyTaxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
of DSS either. Different authors propose different classifications. Using the relationship with the user as the criterion, Haettenschwiler differentiates passive, active, and cooperative DSS. A passive DSS is a system that aids the process of decision making, but that cannot bring out explicit decision suggestions or solutions. An active DSS can bring out such decision suggestions or solutions. A cooperative DSS allows the decision maker (or its advisor) to modify, complete, or refine the decision suggestions provided by the system, before sending them back to the system for validation. The system again improves, completes, and refines the suggestions of the decision maker and sends them back to him for validation. The whole process then starts again, until a consolidated solution is generated.
Another taxonomy for DSS has been created by Daniel Power. Using the mode of assistance as the criterion, Power differentiates communication-driven DSS, data-driven DSS, document-driven DSS, knowledge-driven DSS, and model-driven DSS.
- A communication-driven DSS supports more than one person working on a shared task; examples include integrated tools like Microsoft's NetMeeting or Groove
- A data-driven DSS or data-oriented DSS emphasizes access to and manipulation of a time seriesTime seriesIn statistics, signal processing, econometrics and mathematical finance, a time series is a sequence of data points, measured typically at successive times spaced at uniform time intervals. Examples of time series are the daily closing value of the Dow Jones index or the annual flow volume of the...
of internal company data and, sometimes, external data. - A document-driven DSS manages, retrieves, and manipulates unstructured information in a variety of electronic formats.
- A knowledge-driven DSS provides specialized problem-solving expertise stored as facts, rules, procedures, or in similar structures.
- A model-driven DSS emphasizes access to and manipulation of a statistical, financial, optimization, or simulationComputer simulationA computer simulation, a computer model, or a computational model is a computer program, or network of computers, that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system...
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. Dicodess is an example of an open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
model-driven DSS generator.
Using scope as the criterion, Power differentiates enterprise-wide DSS and desktop DSS. An enterprise-wide DSS is linked to large data warehouses and serves many managers in the company. A desktop, single-user DSS is a small system that runs on an individual manager's PC.
Components
Three fundamental components of a DSS architectureSystems architecture
A system architecture or systems architecture is the conceptual model that defines the structure, behavior, and more views of a system.An architecture description is a formal description and representation of a system, organized in a way that supports reasoning about the structure of the system...
are:
- the databaseDatabaseA database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
(or knowledge baseKnowledge baseA knowledge base is a special kind of database for knowledge management. A Knowledge Base provides a means for information to be collected, organised, shared, searched and utilised.-Types:...
), - the model (i.e., the decision context and user criteria), and
- the user interfaceUser interfaceThe user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
.
The users themselves are also important components of the architecture.
Development Frameworks
DSS systems are not entirely different from other systems and require a structured approach. Such a framework includes people, technology, and the development approach.DSS technology levels (of hardware and software) may include:
- The actual application that will be used by the user. This is the part of the application that allows the decision maker to make decisions in a particular problem area. The user can act upon that particular problem.
- Generator contains Hardware/software environment that allows people to easily develop specific DSS applications. This level makes use of case tools or systems such as Crystal, AIMMSAIMMSAIMMS is a software system designed for modeling and solving large-scale optimization and scheduling-type problems....
, and iThink. - Tools include lower level hardware/software. DSS generators including special languages, function libraries and linking modules
An iterative developmental approach allows for the DSS to be changed and redesigned at various intervals. Once the system is designed, it will need to be tested and revised for the desired outcome.
Classification
There are several ways to classify DSS applications. Not every DSS fits neatly into one of the categories, but may be a mix of two or more architectures.Holsapple and Whinston classify DSS into the following six frameworks: Text-oriented DSS, Database-oriented DSS, Spreadsheet-oriented DSS, Solver-oriented DSS, Rule-oriented DSS, and Compound DSS.
A compound DSS is the most popular classification for a DSS. It is a hybrid system that includes two or more of the five basic structures described by Holsapple and Whinston.
The support given by DSS can be separated into three distinct, interrelated categories: Personal Support, Group Support, and Organizational Support.
DSS components may be classified as:
- Inputs: Factors, numbers, and characteristics to analyze
- User Knowledge and Expertise: Inputs requiring manual analysis by the user
- Outputs: Transformed data from which DSS "decisions" are generated
- Decisions: Results generated by the DSS based on user criteria
DSSs which perform selected cognitive
Cognition
In science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...
decision-making functions and are based on artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
or intelligent agent
Intelligent agent
In artificial intelligence, an intelligent agent is an autonomous entity which observes through sensors and acts upon an environment using actuators and directs its activity towards achieving goals . Intelligent agents may also learn or use knowledge to achieve their goals...
s technologies are called Intelligent Decision Support Systems
Intelligent support systems
Intelligent Decision Support Systems is a term that describes decision support systems that make extensive use of artificial intelligence techniques...
(IDSS).
The nascent field of Decision engineering
Decision engineering
Decision Engineering is a framework that unifies a number of best practices for organizational decision making. It is based on the recognition that, in many organizations, decision making could be improved if a more structured approach were used...
treats the decision itself as an engineered object, and applies engineering principles such as Design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
and Quality assurance
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance, or QA for short, is the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a project, service or facility to maximize the probability that minimum standards of quality are being attained by the production process...
to an explicit representation of the elements that make up a decision.
Applications
As mentioned above, there are theoretical possibilities of building such systems in any knowledge domain.One example is the clinical decision support system
Clinical decision support system
Clinical decision support system is an interactive decision support system Computer Software, which is designed to assist physicians and other health professionals with decision making tasks, as determining diagnosis of patient data. A working definition has been proposed by Dr...
for medical diagnosis
Medical diagnosis
Medical diagnosis refers both to the process of attempting to determine or identify a possible disease or disorder , and to the opinion reached by this process...
. Other examples include a bank loan officer verifying the credit of a loan applicant or an engineering firm that has bids on several projects and wants to know if they can be competitive with their costs.
DSS is extensively used in business and management. Executive dashboard and other business performance software allow faster decision making, identification of negative trends, and better allocation of business resources.
A growing area of DSS application, concepts, principles, and techniques is in agricultural production
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, marketing for sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
. For example, the DSSAT4 package, developed through financial support of USAID during the 80's and 90's, has allowed rapid assessment of several agricultural production systems around the world to facilitate decision-making at the farm and policy levels. There are, however, many constraints to the successful adoption on DSS in agriculture.
DSS are also prevalent in forest management
Forest management
200px|thumb|right|[[Sustainable development|Sustainable]] forest management carried out by [[Complejo Forestal y Maderero Panguipulli|Complejo Panguipulli]] has contributed to the preservation of the forested landscape around [[Neltume]], a sawmill town in Chile...
where the long planning time frame demands specific requirements. All aspects of Forest management, from log transportation, harvest scheduling to sustainability and ecosystem protection have been addressed by modern DSSs.
A specific example concerns the Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
system, which tests its equipment on a regular basis using a decision support system. A problem faced by any railroad is worn-out or defective rails, which can result in hundreds of derailment
Derailment
A derailment is an accident on a railway or tramway in which a rail vehicle, or part or all of a train, leaves the tracks on which it is travelling, with consequent damage and in many cases injury and/or death....
s per year. Under a DSS, CN managed to decrease the incidence of derailments at the same time other companies were experiencing an increase.
Benefits
- Improves personal efficiency
- Speed up the process of decision making
- Increases organizational control
- Encourages exploration and discovery on the part of the decision maker
- Speeds up problem solving in an organization
- Facilitates interpersonal communication
- Promotes learning or training
- Generates new evidence in support of a decision
- Creates a competitive advantage over competition
- Reveals new approaches to thinking about the problem space
- Helps automate managerial processes
See also
- Decision making softwareDecision making softwareDecision-making software is a term integrating decision analysis tools to facilitate a person's decision-making process, which results in a choice of a course of action or a variant among several alternatives...
- Judge–advisor systemJudge–advisor systemA judge–advisor system is a type of advice structure often studied in advice taking research, a subset of decision-making in the social sciences. The two roles in a JAS are the judge and advisor roles. The judge is the decision maker who evaluates information concerning a particular decision and...
- Decision theoryDecision theoryDecision theory in economics, psychology, philosophy, mathematics, and statistics is concerned with identifying the values, uncertainties and other issues relevant in a given decision, its rationality, and the resulting optimal decision...
- Predictive analyticsPredictive analyticsPredictive analytics encompasses a variety of statistical techniques from modeling, machine learning, data mining and game theory that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future events....
- Land Allocation Decision Support SystemLand Allocation Decision Support SystemLADSS or Land Allocation Decision Support System, is an agricultural land use planning tool developed at The Macaulay Institute. More recently the term LADSS is used to refer to the research of the team behind the original planning tool....
- Online deliberationOnline deliberationOnline deliberation is a term associated with an emerging body of practice, research, and software dedicated to fostering serious, purposive discussion over the Internet...
- Self service softwareSelf service softwareSelf service software is a subset within the knowledge management software category and which contains a range of software that specializes in the way information, process rules and logic are collected, framed within an organized taxonomy, and accessed through decision support interviews...
- Spatial Decision Support SystemSpatial Decision Support SystemSpatial decision support systems developed in parallel with the concept of decision support systems .An sDSS is an interactive, computer-based system designed to support a user or group of users in achieving a higher effectiveness of decision making while solving a semi-structured spatial problem...
- Morphological AnalysisMorphological analysisMorphological Analysis or General Morphological Analysis is a method developed by Fritz Zwicky for exploring all the possible solutions to a multi-dimensional, non-quantified problem complex.-Overview:...
- Clinical decision support systemClinical decision support systemClinical decision support system is an interactive decision support system Computer Software, which is designed to assist physicians and other health professionals with decision making tasks, as determining diagnosis of patient data. A working definition has been proposed by Dr...
- Decision engineeringDecision engineeringDecision Engineering is a framework that unifies a number of best practices for organizational decision making. It is based on the recognition that, in many organizations, decision making could be improved if a more structured approach were used...
Further reading
- Delic, K.A., Douillet,L. and Dayal, U. (2001) "Towards an architecture for real-time decision support systems:challenges and solutions.
- Diasio, S., Agell, N. (2009) "The evolution of expertise in decision support technologies: A challenge for organizations," cscwd, pp. 692–697, 13th International Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work in Design, 2009. http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/doi/10.1109/CSCWD.2009.4968139
- Gadomski, A.M. et al.(2001) "An Approach to the Intelligent Decision Advisor (IDA) for Emergency Managers", Int. J. Risk Assessment and Management, Vol. 2, Nos. 3/4.
- Gomes da Silva, Carlos; Clímaco, João; Figueira, José. European Journal of Operational Research.
- Ender, Gabriela; E-Book (2005–2011) about the OpenSpace-Online Real-Time Methodology: Knowledge-sharing, problem solving, results-oriented group dialogs about topics that matter with extensive conference documentation in real-time. Download http://www.openspace-online.com/OpenSpace-Online_eBook_en.pdf
- Jiménez, Antonio; Ríos-Insua, Sixto; Mateos, Alfonso. Computers & Operations Research.
- Jintrawet, Attachai (1995). A Decision Support System for Rapid Assessment of Lowland Rice-based Cropping Alternatives in Thailand. Agricultural Systems 47: 245-258.
- Matsatsinis, N.F. and Y. Siskos (2002), Intelligent support systems for marketing decisions, Kluwer Academic Publishers.
- Power, D. J. (2000). Web-based and model-driven decision support systems: concepts and issues. in proceedings of the Americas Conference on Information Systems, Long Beach, California.
- Reich, Yoram; Kapeliuk, Adi. Decision Support Systems., Nov2005, Vol. 41 Issue 1, p1-19, 19p.
- Sauter, V. L. (1997). Decision support systems: an applied managerial approach. New York, John Wiley.
- Silver, M. (1991). Systems that support decision makers: description and analysis. Chichester ; New York, Wiley.
- Sprague, R. H. and H. J. Watson (1993). Decision support systems: putting theory into practice. Englewood Clifts, N.J., Prentice Hall.