Decision Support Systems: Modern information systems on the modern battlefield

1. Decision Support Systems:Modern information systems on the modern battlefield Steven P. Frysinger, Ph.D. Integrated Science and Technology and Computer Science Departments

2. What is a Decision Support System? • A DSS integrates a variety of elements to support decision making • Data • Models • Analytical tools

3. What is a Decision Support System? • A DSS integrates a variety of elements to support decision making • Data, e.g. • Location and nature of assets • Location and nature of threats • Models • Analytical tools

4. What is a Decision Support System? • A DSS integrates a variety of elements to support decision making • Data • Models, e.g. • Airborne plume dispersion models • Radio communication models • Analytical tools

5. What is a Decision Support System? • A DSS integrates a variety of elements to support decision making • Data • Models • Analytical tools, e.g. • Monte Carlo Simulation • Geographical Information Systems • Expert Systems • Optimization • Visualization and audification

6. Focused Design • A DSS is focused on • a particular decision problem • a particular decision maker • One size does not fit all!

7. DSS in National Defense • Computer-supported DSS has been used in the defense arena for decades, e.g. • Fire control systems • RADAR/Sonar detection systems • Battlefield applications have become appropriate as the availability of highly portable and reliable computing increases

8. Battlefield Applications • Risk assessment • e.g., weapon choice to minimize collateral damage • Asset management • e.g. optimal placement of depots • Intelligence gathering • e.g. data worth analysis

9. Three Specific Contributors to DSS • Data mining – Dr. Julia Couto • Artificial Intelligence – Dr. Joseph Marchal • Spatial data analysis – Dr. Michael Deaton