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DSS Evaluation: A Comparison of Ex-Ante and Ex-Post Evaluation Methods

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Recent Developments in Decision Support Systems

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((NATO ASI F,volume 101))

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Abstract

A comparison of ex-post and ex-ante DSS evaluation techniques is presented. We argue that ex-ante DSS evaluation can be conducted through the use of controlled laboratory experiments. Such ex-ante information gathering avoids the expense of fully implemented systems, can be conducted over carefully designed experimental ranges, and can play an important role in DSS theory testing and modification. But ex-ante procedures are not without pitfalls that must be carefully avoided. We outline an integrated evaluation approach that incorporates the use of ex-ante and ex-post evaluation procedures in a complimentary rather than competing fashion. Significant illustrative use is made of controlled laboratory experiments which we have been conducting at the MIS and DSS Research Laboratories of the Department of Decision Science and Information Systems at the University of Kentucky.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Finance and Business Systems, College of Business, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, 40475-3111, Kentucky, USA

    Charles Gardner

  2. Department of Decision Science and Information Systems, College of Business and Economics, University of Kentucky, 40506-0034, Lexington, Kentucky, USA

    James R. Marsden

  3. Department of Management Information Systems, College of Business and Public Administration, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721, USA

    David E. Pingry

Authors
  1. Charles Gardner
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  2. James R. Marsden
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  3. David E. Pingry
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Kentucky, Business and Economic Bldg., Room 317, 40506-0034, Lexington, KY, USA

    Clyde W. Holsapple

  2. Department of Management Science and Information Systems, CBA 5.202, Graduate School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, 78712-1175, Austin, TX, USA

    Andrew B. Whinston

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© 1993 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Gardner, C., Marsden, J.R., Pingry, D.E. (1993). DSS Evaluation: A Comparison of Ex-Ante and Ex-Post Evaluation Methods. In: Holsapple, C.W., Whinston, A.B. (eds) Recent Developments in Decision Support Systems. NATO ASI Series, vol 101. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-02952-7_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-02952-7_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-08147-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-02952-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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