Decision Support Systems

Decision Support System (DSS) is an interactive computer-based application that combines data and mathematical models to help decision makers solve complex problems faced in managing the public and private enterprises and organizations. Since the late 1980s, a decision support system has been defined as an interactive computer system helping decision makers to combine data and models to solve semi-structured and unstructured problems. This definition entails the three main elements of a DSS (shown in Figure ds.01):

1. a database,
2. a repository of mathematical models and
3. a module for handling the dialogue between the system and the users.

It thus highlights the role of DSSs as the focal point of evolution trends in two distinct areas: on the one hand, data processing and information technologies; and on the other hand, the disciplines addressing the study of mathematical models and methods, such as operations research and statistics.

Figure ds.01 Structure of a Decision Support System

1. Database management system (DBMS). A DBMS serves as a data bank for the DSS. It stores large quantities of data that are relevant to the class of problems for which the DSS has been designed and provides logical data structures (as opposed to the physical data structures) with which the users interact. A DBMS separates the users from the physical aspects of the database structure and processing. It should also be capable of informing the user of the types of data that are available and how to gain access to them.
2. Model-base management system (MBMS). The role of MBMS is analogous to that of a DBMS. Its primary function is providing independence between specific models that are used in a DSS from the applications that use them. The purpose of an MBMS is to transform data from the DBMS into information that is useful in decision making. Since many problems that the user of a DSS will cope with may be unstructured, the MBMS should also be capable of assisting the user in model building.
3. Dialog generation and management system (DGMS). The main product of an interaction with a DSS is insight. As their users are often managers who are not computer-trained, DSSs need to be equipped with intuitive and easy-to-use interfaces. These interfaces aid in model building, but also in interaction with the model, such as gaining insight and recommendations from it. The primary responsibility of a DGMS is to enhance the ability of the system user to utilize and benefit from the DSS. In the remainder of this article, we will use the broader term user interface rather than DGMS.

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