Group decision support systems
Encyclopedia
Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) are a class of electronic meeting system
s, a collaboration technology designed to support meetings and group work . GDSS are distinct from computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) technologies as GDSS are more focused on task support, whereas CSCW tools provide general communication support .
Group Decision Support Systems are categorized within a time-place paradigm. Different features may be required for synchronous
vs asynchronous communication, as well as local vs distant.
Academic work on Group Decision Support Systems was largely led in the 1980s and 1990s by the University of Minnesota (the SAMM System) and the University of Arizona (PLEXSYS, later renamed GroupSystems). The Arizona research software was spun off as Ventana Corporation (now known as GroupSystems Inc.). The University of Arizona researchers report both benefits and costs for their electronic meeting system.
The benefits, or process gains, from using a GDSS (over more traditional group techniques) are:
The costs, or process losses, from using a GDSS (instead of more traditional group techniques) are:
However, the researchers found that GDSS over traditional group techniques limited or reduced the following process losses:
There is also an initiative to create open-source software that can support similar group processes in education, where this category of software has been called a Discussion Support System. See CoFFEE
.
This is Chapter 10 of The Future Does Not Compute: Transcending the Machines in Our Midst, by Stephen L. Talbott. (Sebastopol CA: O'Reilly & Associates, 1995).
Hardcover, 502 pages. ISBN 1-56592-085-6
by Uday S. Murthy and L. Murphy Smith
The authors describe the guidelines and strategies for putting electronic meeting systems to work and present details and comparisons on two of the available less expensive software packages.
by D. J. Power - Editor, DSSResources.COM
Report by Philip S Tellis, Staff Scientist, ETU Division, NCST, Juhu
March 2006 Conversation column by Gardiner Morse: "Connecting Maverick Minds" ... Geoffrey West, president of the Santa Fe Institute
, a unique research community
that innovates by mixing disciplines, talks about why free thinking matters.
Electronic meeting system
An electronic meeting system is a type of computer software that facilitates creative problem solving and decision-making of groups within or across organizations. The term was coined by Jay Nunamaker et al. in 1991. The term is synonymous with Group Support Systems and essentially synonymous...
s, a collaboration technology designed to support meetings and group work . GDSS are distinct from computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) technologies as GDSS are more focused on task support, whereas CSCW tools provide general communication support .
Group Decision Support Systems are categorized within a time-place paradigm. Different features may be required for synchronous
Synchronization
Synchronization is timekeeping which requires the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. The familiar conductor of an orchestra serves to keep the orchestra in time....
vs asynchronous communication, as well as local vs distant.
Research
Significant research supports measuring impacts of:- Adapting human factorsHuman factorsHuman factors science or human factors technologies is a multidisciplinary field incorporating contributions from psychology, engineering, industrial design, statistics, operations research and anthropometry...
for these technologies, - Facilitating interdisciplinary collaborationCollaborationCollaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
, and - Promoting effective organizational learningOrganizational learningOrganizational learning is an area of knowledge within organizational theory that studies models and theories about the way an organization learns and adapts....
.
Academic work on Group Decision Support Systems was largely led in the 1980s and 1990s by the University of Minnesota (the SAMM System) and the University of Arizona (PLEXSYS, later renamed GroupSystems). The Arizona research software was spun off as Ventana Corporation (now known as GroupSystems Inc.). The University of Arizona researchers report both benefits and costs for their electronic meeting system.
The benefits, or process gains, from using a GDSS (over more traditional group techniques) are:
- More precise communication;
- Synergy: members are empowered to build on ideas of others;
- More objective evaluation of ideas;
- Stimulation of individuals to increase participation;
- Learning: group members imitate and learn from successful behaviors of others.
The costs, or process losses, from using a GDSS (instead of more traditional group techniques) are:
- More free riding;
- More information overload;
- More flaming;
- Slower feedback;
- Fewer information cues;
- Incomplete use of information.
However, the researchers found that GDSS over traditional group techniques limited or reduced the following process losses:
- Less attention blocking
- Less conformance pressure
- Less airtime fragmentation
- Less attenuation blocking
- Less socializing
- Less individual domination
Systems
Commercial software products that support GDSS practices over the Internet in both synchronous and asynchronous settings include spilter.nl, facilitate.com, smartSpeed Connect, ThinkTank and ynSyte's WIQ.There is also an initiative to create open-source software that can support similar group processes in education, where this category of software has been called a Discussion Support System. See CoFFEE
CoFFEE
CoFFEE is an open source software for computer supported collaborative learning in a digital classroom. Unlike most CSCL envirmonments, CoFFEE is not designed for and indeed does not currently support distance learning, but is rather focused on facilitating group interaction within the...
.
See also
- CollaboratoryCollaboratoryA collaboratory, as defined by William Wulf in 1989, is a “center without walls, in which the nation’s researchers can perform their research without regard to physical location, interacting with colleagues, accessing instrumentation, sharing data and computational resources, [and] accessing...
- Computer-mediated communicationComputer-mediated communicationComputer-mediated communication is defined as any communicative transaction that occurs through the use of two or more networked computers...
- Computer-supported collaborationComputer-supported collaborationComputer-supported collaboration research focuses on technology that affects groups, organizations, communities and societies, e.g., voice mail and text chat. It grew from cooperative work study of supporting people's work activities and working relationships...
- Groupware
- Global brainGlobal brainThe Global Brain is a metaphor for the worldwide intelligent network formed by people together with the information and communication technologies that connect them into an "organic" whole...
- Project managementProject managementProject management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
- List of collaborative software
External links
This is Chapter 10 of The Future Does Not Compute: Transcending the Machines in Our Midst, by Stephen L. Talbott. (Sebastopol CA: O'Reilly & Associates, 1995).
Hardcover, 502 pages. ISBN 1-56592-085-6
by Uday S. Murthy and L. Murphy Smith
The authors describe the guidelines and strategies for putting electronic meeting systems to work and present details and comparisons on two of the available less expensive software packages.
by D. J. Power - Editor, DSSResources.COM
Report by Philip S Tellis, Staff Scientist, ETU Division, NCST, Juhu
- Hurricane Katrina: Redefining the Essence of Homeland Security (2005).
- thinkLets (Wikimedia mirror of related article that was purged.)
- Harvard Business Review (HBR Reprint F0603D)
March 2006 Conversation column by Gardiner Morse: "Connecting Maverick Minds" ... Geoffrey West, president of the Santa Fe Institute
Santa Fe Institute
The Santa Fe Institute is an independent, nonprofit theoretical research institute located in Santa Fe and dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of the fundamental principles of complex adaptive systems, including physical, computational, biological, and social systems.The Institute houses a...
, a unique research community
that innovates by mixing disciplines, talks about why free thinking matters.