Decision Support and Artificial Intelligence
Overview - (correct Answer) - how decisions are made? central to MIS
Four Phases of Decision Making - (correct Answer) - intelligence- finding problem to fix
design- find solutions
choice- choose a solution (weighing pros and cons, costs, etc)
implementation- apply the solution
can build a system on any one of those phases
can help inform the types of systems we use in an organization
Types of Decisions - (correct Answer) - -Structured
-Semi-structured
-Unstructured
-Recurring vs. ad-hoc
structured- decision that has one right answer that is formulaic, clear, and calculated. probably several
wrong answers
unstructured- problem w many possible solutions. some are optimized better than others. challenge is
finding the best answer, not the only answer. open-ended, not as clear, many possibilities
semi structured- several right answers but not as many as unstructured. what is the best answer of those
choices
ex. he gets a sweater for Christmas and goes to the store to exchange it. customer service rep makes a
decision based on request, typically based on store
. the store policy is you need a receipt. he asks if there are any other options because it was a gift so
clerk asks a manager. manager decides from this semi-structured problem that they will give store credit.
manager could've said no or could've given cash for it.
manager attends a meeting w other managers and they discuss the gift return issue. company doesn't
have a good enough policy to handle those issues- waste of time to keep calling managers for help.
managers are faced w an unstructured problem and they decide to rewrite store policy. have to focus on
profitability and customer satisfaction.
, structured- clerk says no returns without receipt
semi structured- store credit
unstructured- rewrite policy
different employees have different info needs based on the decisions they make and the systems we
build can help inform these types of decisions differently
story: former student said he worked at Home Depot or Lowes and customers tried to return Christmas
trees after christmas
-businesses have to weigh the costs of their policy of letting people do that
recurring- decision that happens over and over
good because you know they're coming and can be prepared for them
info sys
ad-hoc decisions - (correct Answer) - decisions that happen on the spot
you want info systems flexible enough to help you find answers for these decisions (analysis, query,
report)
Decision Support Systems (DSS) - (correct Answer) - Highly flexible and interactive IT system designed to
support unstructured and semi-structured decision making.
what you bring- experience, intuition, judgement, knowledge
advantages of a DSS- increased productivity, increased understanding, increased speed, increased
flexibility, reduced problem complexity, reduced cost
what IT brings- speed, information, processing capabilities
doesn't support structure
interactive because its open-ended and you can work with it and analyze to find best answer
-reliant on you (the expert) working with the system and data
cant sit in front of system, press a button and get an answer. you need someone who knows what they're
doing to get the value out of it
intersection of what you bring and what tech brings= advantages of a DSS
ex. OLAP system where you're manipulating, slicing and dicing data and analyzing
DSS Components - (correct Answer) - TPS and external data -> DSS database -> DSS software system,
models, OLAP tools, data mining tools -> user interface -> user
-Model management- consists of both the DSS models and the DSS model management system.
Overview - (correct Answer) - how decisions are made? central to MIS
Four Phases of Decision Making - (correct Answer) - intelligence- finding problem to fix
design- find solutions
choice- choose a solution (weighing pros and cons, costs, etc)
implementation- apply the solution
can build a system on any one of those phases
can help inform the types of systems we use in an organization
Types of Decisions - (correct Answer) - -Structured
-Semi-structured
-Unstructured
-Recurring vs. ad-hoc
structured- decision that has one right answer that is formulaic, clear, and calculated. probably several
wrong answers
unstructured- problem w many possible solutions. some are optimized better than others. challenge is
finding the best answer, not the only answer. open-ended, not as clear, many possibilities
semi structured- several right answers but not as many as unstructured. what is the best answer of those
choices
ex. he gets a sweater for Christmas and goes to the store to exchange it. customer service rep makes a
decision based on request, typically based on store
. the store policy is you need a receipt. he asks if there are any other options because it was a gift so
clerk asks a manager. manager decides from this semi-structured problem that they will give store credit.
manager could've said no or could've given cash for it.
manager attends a meeting w other managers and they discuss the gift return issue. company doesn't
have a good enough policy to handle those issues- waste of time to keep calling managers for help.
managers are faced w an unstructured problem and they decide to rewrite store policy. have to focus on
profitability and customer satisfaction.
, structured- clerk says no returns without receipt
semi structured- store credit
unstructured- rewrite policy
different employees have different info needs based on the decisions they make and the systems we
build can help inform these types of decisions differently
story: former student said he worked at Home Depot or Lowes and customers tried to return Christmas
trees after christmas
-businesses have to weigh the costs of their policy of letting people do that
recurring- decision that happens over and over
good because you know they're coming and can be prepared for them
info sys
ad-hoc decisions - (correct Answer) - decisions that happen on the spot
you want info systems flexible enough to help you find answers for these decisions (analysis, query,
report)
Decision Support Systems (DSS) - (correct Answer) - Highly flexible and interactive IT system designed to
support unstructured and semi-structured decision making.
what you bring- experience, intuition, judgement, knowledge
advantages of a DSS- increased productivity, increased understanding, increased speed, increased
flexibility, reduced problem complexity, reduced cost
what IT brings- speed, information, processing capabilities
doesn't support structure
interactive because its open-ended and you can work with it and analyze to find best answer
-reliant on you (the expert) working with the system and data
cant sit in front of system, press a button and get an answer. you need someone who knows what they're
doing to get the value out of it
intersection of what you bring and what tech brings= advantages of a DSS
ex. OLAP system where you're manipulating, slicing and dicing data and analyzing
DSS Components - (correct Answer) - TPS and external data -> DSS database -> DSS software system,
models, OLAP tools, data mining tools -> user interface -> user
-Model management- consists of both the DSS models and the DSS model management system.
