Decision Support Systems

1. Decision Support Systems Collaborative Computer-Supported Technologies and Group Support Systems

2. Learning Objectives • Understand the basic concepts and processes of groupwork, communication and collaboration • Know the concepts and importance of the time/place framework • Know the process gains and losses and how GSS increases/decreases each of them • Describe indirect support for decision making, especially in synchronous environments • Understand the concept of GDSS and describe how to structure an electronic meeting in a decision room • Understand how the Web enables collaborative computing and group support of virtual meetings

3. Collaboration • What is it? “… making joint effort toward achieving an agreed upon goal.” • Meeting is a common form of collaboration • Why collaborate?

4. Why Collaborate? Make Decisions Review Build Trust Synergy Share the Vision Share Information Share Work Solve Problems Socialize Build Consensus

5. Collaboration is Difficult Waiting to speak Wrong People Domination Groupthink Fear of Speaking Poor Grasp of Problem Misunderstanding Ignored Alternatives Inattention Lack of Consensus Ineffective Lack of Focus Collaboration Poor Planning Inadequate Criteria Hidden Agendas Premature Decisions Conflict Missing Information Inadequate Resources Distractions Poorly Defined Goals

6. Collaboration is Expensive • 15 Million formal Sessions / day • ? Million Informal Sessions / day • 4 Billion Sessions / year • 30-80% Manager’s time Fortune 500 Companies 3M Corporation Study

7. Collaboration : Expensive and Essential • 30-80% Manager’s time • No one has all the … • Experience • Knowledge • Resources • Insight, and • Inspiration …to do the job alone • Bottom line: Collaboration is difficult, expensive, and yet essential for today’s organizations

8. How Do People Collaborate? 3 Levels of Collaboration Capability Low Level 1 Collected Work : Uncoordinated Individual Efforts Sprinters Degree of Collaborative Effort Level 2 Coordinated Work: Coordinated Individual Efforts Relay Level 3 Concerted Work: Concerted Team Effort Crew High

9. Meetings (a form of collaboration) • Joint activity • Equal or near equal status • Outcome depends on participant’s knowledge, etc. • Outcome depends on group composition • Outcome depends on decision-making process • Disagreement settled by rank or negotiation

10. The Ideal Meeting • Dozens of people attends • Everyone … talks at once hears everything understands remembers • The impossible dream?

11. Traditional Meetings Only ONE person can speak at a time

12. GSS Meetings By using the computer everyone can SPEAK and be understood simultaneously

13. Communication Support • Vital • Needed for collaboration • Modern information technologies provide inexpensive, fast, capable, reliable means of supporting communication • Internet / Web

14. Supporting Communication • Evolution of Communication • Word of mouth • Delivery persons • Horseback • Snailmail • Telegraph • Telephone • Radio • Television • Videoconferencing • Internet / Web…

15. A Time/Place Communication Framework

16. Group Support Systems • Goal: to support groupwork • Increase benefits / decrease losses of collaboration • Based on traditional methods • Nominal Group Technique “Individuals work alone to generate ideas which are pooled under guidance of a trained facilitator” • Delphi Method “A structured process for collecting and distilling knowledge from a group of experts by means of questionnaires” • Electronic Meeting System (EMS)

17. GSS – Important Features Process Gains: • Parallelism ( simultaneous contributions ) • Larger groups can participate • Anonymity ( promotes equal participation ) • Focus on content not personalities • Triggering ( stimulates thinking ) • Synergy ( integrates ideas ) • Structure ( facilitates problem solving ) • Record keeping ( promotes organizational memory ) Process Loses: - Free-riding - Flaming

18. Benefits of Anonymity • Ideas considered on merit not source • Overcome fear of speaking up • More ideas leads to more quality ideas • Defuses tough political discussions

19. GSS Enabling Technologies • Decision room • Multiple use facility • Web-based

20. The Decision (Electronic Meeting) Room • 12 to 30 networked personal computers • Usually recessed into the desktop • Server PC • Large-screen projection system • Breakout rooms • Need a Trained Facilitator for Success

21. Cool Decision Rooms IBM Corp.

22. Cooler Decision Rooms US Air Force

23. On-Demand Decision Rooms

24. Few Organizations Use Decision Rooms • High Cost • Need for a Trained Facilitator • Requires Specific Software Support for Different Cooperative Tasks • Infrequent Use • Different Place / Different Time Needs • May Need More Than One

25. Other Technologies • Multiple Use Facility • Cheaper • Still need a facilitator • Web-based • Cheaper: no extra hardware needed • Still need facilitator

26. GroupSystems, Inc. • From GroupSystems.com • Enabling leaders to realize extraordinary results from their teams • Collaboration-as-a-Service solutions  • Leading software • Tool: ThinkTank

27. ThinkTank: Supported Activities • Supported tools and activities: • Agenda and Other Planning Activities • Electronic Brainstorming • Group Outliner • Topic Commenter • Categorizer • Vote • Others…

28. GSS Meeting Process Iterate until the solution is reached…

29. Visit a GSS Meeting

30. Last Words about GSS? • Why Successful? • Parallelism • Anonymity • Synergy • Structure • Record keeping • Needs… • Organizational commitment • Executive sponsor • Dedicated well-trained facilitator • Good planning

31. Collaborative Networks • Integrated supply-chain • Collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment (CPFR) • Collaborative design and product development • Vendor Managed Inventories • Wal-Mart, … • Collective Intelligence • Animal Intelligence (swarm intelligence)

32. Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR) An industry-wide project in which suppliers and retailers collaborate in planning and demand forecasting in order to ensure that members of the supply chain will have the right amount of raw materials and finished goods when they need them

33. Collective Intelligence • A shared intelligence that emerges from the intentional cooperation, collaboration, and/or coordination of many individuals. • Examples: Wikipedia, video games, online advertising, learner-generated context, … • In order for CI to happen: • Openness • Peering • Sharing • Acting globally For more info see Center for Collective Intelligence at MIT (cci.mit.edu)

34. A Taxonomy of Collective Intelligence

35. Creativity • Definition: Creativity is a characteristic of a person that leads to production of acts, items and/or instances of novelty • Creativity is the product of a genius vs. an idea generation environment • Creative people tend to have creative lives • CREATIVITY  INNOVATION • Idea Generation via Electronic Brainstorming

36. Creativity… • What variables affects creativity • Cognitive variables: intelligence, knowledge, skills, etc. • Environmental variables: cultural and socioeconomic factors, working conditions, etc. • Personality variables: motivation, confidence, sense of freedom, etc. • Creativity is fostered by • Freedom • Permission-to-fail Allow and Enable rather than Structure and Control

37. End of the Chapter • Questions / comments…