Abstract
This chapter is about the substantive design of DSS features. It begins with a set of five premises that are fundamental for designing DSSs yet are often neglected in the prescriptive literature. Because a DSS is an intervention into the processes by which decisions are made, and because the ultimate outcome of DSS design is not the system itself but the system’s consequences, the key question for designers to keep in mind is this: What will the decision maker do with the system? Contemplating this question leads to two key design features of DSS: system restrictiveness and decisional guidance. System restrictiveness refers to how a DSS limits decision makers who rely on it to a subset of all possible decision-making processes. Decisional guidance refers to how a DSS enlightens, sways, or directs decision makers as they choose and use its functional capabilities. Together these two features play a significant role in determining whether a DSS will successfully achieve its design objectives while avoiding undesirable side-effects. The chapter explores how a system’s restrictiveness and decisional guidance can be defined by designers to achieve their design objectives as well as how DSS features can restrict and guide.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alter, S.L, Decision Support Systems, Current Practice and Continuing Challenges. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1980.
Bennett, J.L., “Analysis and design of the user interface for Decision Support Systems,” in Bennett, J.L. (ed.), Building Decision Support Systems. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1983, pp. 41-64.
DeSanctis, G., J.R. Snyder and M.S. Poole, “The Meaning of the Interface: A Functional and Holistic Evaluation of a Meeting Software System,” Decis Support Syst, 11(4), 1994, 319-335.
Davis, F.D., R.P. Bagozzi and P.R. Warshaw, “User Acceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models,” Manage Sci, 35(8), 1989, 982-1002.
Elam, J. J. and M. Mead, “Can software influence creativity?,” Inform Syst Res, 1(1), 1990, 1-22.
Fripp, J., “How effective are models?,” Omega, 13, 1985, 19-28.
Geoffrion, A.M., “Integrated Modeling Systems,” Comput Sci Econ Manage, 2, 1989, 3-15.
Gerrity, T.P., “Design of Man-Machine Decision Systems: An Application to Portfolio Management,” Sloan Manage Rev, 12(2), 1971, 59-75.
Goodhue, D.L., “Task-Technology Fit: A Critical (But Often Missing!) Construct in Models of Informaiton Systems and Performance,” in Galletta, D. and Zhang, P. (eds.), Human-Computer Interaction in Management Information Systems. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2006, pp. 184-204.
Griffith, T.L., “Technology Features as Triggers for Sensemaking,” Acad Manage Rev, 24(3), 1999, 472-498.
Hevner, A.R, S.T. March and J. Park, “Design Science in Information Systems Research,” MIS Quart, 28(1), 2004, 75-105.
Houdeshel, G. and H. J. Watson, “The Management Information and Decision Support (MIDS) System at Lockheed-Georgia,” MIS Quart, 11(1), 1987, 127-140.
Keen, P.G.W., “Adaptive Design for Decision Support Systems,” Data Base, 12(1/2), 1980, 15-25.
Keen, P.G.W., and M.S. Scott Morton, Decision Support Systems: An Organizational Perspective. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1978.
Kotemann, J.E. and W.E. Remus, “Evidence and Principles of Functional and Dysfunctional DSS,” Omega, 15(2), 1987, 135-143.
Silver, M.S., “Decisional Guidance for Computer-Based Decision Support,” MIS Quart, 15(1), 1991a, 105-122.
Silver, M.S., Systems That Support Decision Makers: Description and Analysis. Chichester: Wiley, 1991b.
Silver, M.S., “Decision Support Systems: Directed and Nondirected Change,” Inform Syst Res, 1(1), 1990, 47-70.
Silver, M.S., “Decisional Guidance: Broadening the Scope,” in Galletta, D. and Zhang, P. (eds.), Human-Computer Interaction in Management Information Systems. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2006, pp. 90-119.
Sprague, R.H. and E.D. Carlson, Building Effective Decision Support Systems. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1982.
Stabell, C.B., “Individual Differences in Managerial Decision-Making Processes: A Study of Conversational Computer Systems Usage” Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 1974.
Te’eni, D., “Designs That Fit: An Overview of Fit Conceptualizations in HCI,” in Galletta, D. and Zhang, P. (eds.), Human-Computer Interaction in Management Information Systems. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2006, pp. 205-221.
Todd, P. and I. Benbasat, “Inducing Compensatory Information Processing through Decision Aids that Facilitate Effort Reduction: An Experimental Assessment,” J Behav Decis Making, 13(1), 2000, 91-106.
Tversky, A. and D. Kahneman, “Judgment under uncertainty: heuristics and biases,” Science, 185, 1974, 1124-1131.
Vessey, I., “The Theory of Cognitive Fit: One Aspect of a General Theory of Problem Solving?” in Galletta, D. and Zhang, P. (eds.), Human-Computer Interaction in Management Information Systems. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2006, pp. 141-183.
Walls, J.G., G.R. Widmeyer and O.A. El Sawy, “Building an Information System Design Theory for Vigilant EIS,” Inform Syst Res, 3(1), 1992, 36-59.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Silver, M. (2008). On the Design Features of Decision Support Systems: The Role of System Restrictiveness and Decisional Guidance. In: Handbook on Decision Support Systems 2. International Handbooks Information System. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-48716-6_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-48716-6_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-48715-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-48716-6
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)