qit08

8/4/2019 qit08

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/qit08 1/8

QIT3023 Information Systems and Decision Ma

Mohd. Noor abdul hamid

[email protected]

CHAPTER 8: GROUP DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS (GDSS)

8.1 GROUP DSS

• DSS whose design, structure and usage reflect the way in which members ofa group interact to make a particular decision or type of decision.

• Supports group decision processes : communication, file sharing, modeling ofgroup activities that involve group interaction

• E.g. Choosing a factory layout: a group of factory managers – stockroomsupervisor, shipping supervisor, assembly supervisor, paint room supervisor,milling supervisor – got together to choose a factory layout

• Integrated the business tasks by considering the business processes as awhole

• Incorporate different perspective into the decision process

8.2 WHY GDSS NOW??

• 2 set of factors have led to the recent explosion in DSS :− task-related reasons : have to do with the functional requirements of

making a decision− organizational reasons : have to do with reflecting people’s desire to be

involve in the decision

8.2.1 Organizational Reason for GDSS Growth:• management decision require the participation of many people

because of:− more complex decision environments− specialization of decision makers− emphasis on time as a competitive resource

• groupthink − the tendency of group members to fall into similar thought patterns

and disapprove, implicitly or explicitly, of opinions that do notconform to these pattern.

− GDSS make it less threatening for group members to violate groupnorms by stating new opinion or disagreeing with them.

8.2.2 Technical Reasons for GDSS Growth• New technological advance make it technically and economically

feasible to develop GDSS tools• Eg: Wide Area telecommunication link are becoming less expensive,

more organization have their own LAN, advance network standardsthat enable user to share data etc.

8/4/2019 qit08




[email protected]

8.3 GROUPS VS INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITIES• For individual to accomplish their task in group activities, they must interact with

other individuals in the group• Why interact?? - knowledge necessary to accomplish a task may be distributed

among the group members• each members depend on other member to gain knowledge in order to

accomplish their task • GDSS help to provide information about the group members, their skills and

other resources• GDSS provide information sharing among the group members• Challenges in design and implement GDSS

− How to motivate group members to cooperate?− How to ensure the information truthfulness? DSS may promote competition

: giving untruthful information− How to ensure that there is no ‘free riding’?? Members take for granted –

a group member may fail to respond to a request, knowing someone torespond sooner or later.

8.4 MEDIA RICHNESS AND TASK TYPES

8.4.1 Media Richness:

• Potential information-carrying capacity of a data transmission medium Therichness measured by the number of available communication channel aswell the immediacy of feedback that is provided to decision maker

• In order to use this richness information – classify tasks because different typesof media may be appropriate for different types of tasks

HighFace-to-faceVideoAudioReal-time electronic chatElectronic Mail

Low

Figure 1 : Communication Medium Richness

8/4/2019 qit08




[email protected]

8.4.2 Task:

• GDSS designers have use MCGrath’s classifications (c ircumplex ) frequently todesign GDSS to match task requirement

• Circumplex = 2 dimensions * 4 basic task = 8 classes of task • 2 dimensions:

- Cooperation to conflict- Behavioral (involve physical actions) to cognitive (involve mental

activity & information)• 4 basic task types – generate, choose, negotiate, execute

a) Generating tasks :− generating plans (planning tasks) and− generating ideas (creativity tasks)

b) Choose tasks, include:− tasks that have correct answer (intellective task) and− involve issues without right answer

c) Negotiate tasks, include task where:− members need to negotiate to resolve conflicts of viewpoints

(cognitive conflict task) and− members need to negotiate to resolve conflicts of interest

(mixed-motive tasks)d) Execute task – involve physical activity.

8.4.3 Task and Media Fit:• Media richness theory suggest that groups that are faced with a complex

task require rich communication media•

If the task can be structured – low richness is required• Unstructured task (need to communicate to correct their divergent

interpretations) – required high richness

8/4/2019 qit08




[email protected]

Figure 2 : Group Task Circumplex

Choose

Type 1 :Planning Tasks

Type 2 :Creativity Tasks

Type 3 :Intellective Tasks

Type 4 :DM Tasks

Type 5 :Cognitive

conflict tasks

Type 6 :Mixed-motive

Tasks

Type 7 :Contests/Battles/

competitive Tasks

Type 8 :Performance /

psycho-motor Tasks

Generate

Negotiate

Execute

Conceptual Behavioral

C o n

f l i c t

C o o e r a

t i o n

Generating ideas Generating plans

Execute performancetasks

Resolvingconflict of

power

Resolving conflict of interest

Resolving conflictof viewpoint

Decidingissueswith norightanswer

Solving problemswithcorrect

8/4/2019 qit08




[email protected]

8.5 TYPES OF GDSS:a) connection management systems:

− providing a physical mechanism through which people involved in adecision can communicate

− e.g.: WAN architectureb) communication management:

− enhance information flow by means of facilities to store, reply, forward etc− e.g. electronic mail packages and discussion groups

c) content management systems− provides intelligent routing – the system knows where a document goes

after its current user finishes with it, or where the messages should go onceit is entered

− e.g. decision conference systemsd) process management

− considering the content of the information in the flow in deciding what todo with it

8.6 GROUPWARE:• computer-based systems that support groups of people engaged in a

common task (or goal) and provide an interface to a shared environment• e.g. calendar programs• calendar program + electronic mail capabilities = it can notify required and

optional participants of meetings, schedule conference rooms and other required resources, collect information, generally simplify the process ofmeeting administrations

• categories of groupware products include:− e-mail and messaging−

conferencing tools− GDSS tools− Group document handling tools− Workflow tools

TIMESame Different

Same No-tech : meeting roomLow-tech : overheadprojector High-tech : conferenceroom support system

No-tech : physical (cork andthumbtack) bulletin boardLow-tech : noneHigh-tech : single-user computer with shared files for nonconcurrent use

PLACE

Different No-tech : noneLow-tech : telephoneHigh-tech :teleconferencing systems

No-tech : mailLow-tech : faxHigh-tech : electronic bulletinboards, electronic mail

Figure 3 – Group communication Grid

8/4/2019 qit08




[email protected]

8.7 GDSS IN USE TODAY

8.7.1 Electronic meeting systems:• also known as a electronic boardroom or war room• provide same time same place meeting• each participant has a microcomputer, connected by a high-speed local

network • also have a large screen display, located where it can be seen by all

participants• meeting facilitator guides the electronic aspect of the meeting, can view

any participant’s computer display and show it on a large screen• electronic meeting room s/ware – tools for planning the session (propose

agenda item), during meeting (organize and structure members’comments), after meeting (recorded data)

• three styles of electronic meeting: chauffeured : display screen is control by one person. supported : all group member can write on the blackboard

interactive : most highly computerized, hardly anyone speaks•

8.7.2 Work Flow Systems:• can be thought of as “intelligent electronic mail”, the systems “knows” what

the flow of information in a decision-making situation is supposed to be androutes information accordingly

• route work using forms and scripts• major characteristics of work flow development tools are :

− they can move various types of objects – forms, documents, technical

drawings, fax etc− they can route information objects automatically from person to person

according to a programmed plan− information can be processed at any point. Applications developers have

flexibility in the type of processing they specify− tracking can show who has done what and where things are being held

up− information moved using electronic mail− e.g. BeyondMail, WorkFlo, Cooperation, WorkMAN, TeamRoute,

INConcert, Notes• facilitate information• often associated with image processing

8/4/2019 qit08




[email protected]

8.8 GROUPWARE PRODUCTS

8.8.1 Collaborative Authoring:a) Dolphin:

• From German firm GMD• S/ware system that supports collaborative authoring in a distributed or

face to face environment• Supports the phase of collaborative writing that requires intense meetings• Provide multiple cursors to show who is working on part of the shared

document• Allow member to access a shared workspace from remote sites,

exchange annotations and engage in discussions• Uses replication to replicate the changes• Utilize “locking” in the transaction-processing sense to control

concurrency

b) MERMAID (Multimedia Environment for Remote Multiple Attendee InteractiveDecision Making)• Develop by Nippon Electric Corp (NEC)• Supports a wide range of cooperative work in a distributed environment

including collaborative authoring• Used for technical discussions, s/ware development by groups whose

members are distributed, joint system design, joint document editing• Can accommodate WAN and multiple LAN using any networking

technology• Provides multiwindow user interface with pull-down and pop-up menus

that can be controlled by using the keyboard and mouse•

User friendly – easy for non-technical office workers using this program• Multiple authors can co-edit documents in a real time using the shared

document editor while they can have a conversation using the video andaudio-enabled conferencing facility.

8.8.2 Lotus Notes• from IBM subsidiary Lotus Development Corporation• Notes – way to organize documents and make them available to groups

of people• Not a relational database (not allow the user to enter data in a field in

one file and then use the same field in another, not automaticallyupdate)

• Can store compound documents and do periodic, but not immediateupdates

• Not suitable for applications that needs instance update – airline ticketing• Provide many features – serial routing and status checking• Build around four core technologies –

− security,

8/4/2019 qit08




[email protected]

− compound documents – basic component of a d/base, consist manytypes of information

− replication -− development tools – allows Notes system to be customized to the

needs of a particular organization

8.8.3 InConcert Work Flow• work flow management system for complex production-level work flows• provides the platform for building specific applications that help groups work

together to solve problem• uses its object technology to associate an unlimited number of attributes and

external data with processes and tasks.• Operates in a client/server environment• Packages includes the server s/ware, developer’s kit and the optional tools

and add-on modules• Code using C++ object-oriented programming language• Provides security by restricting access to the users who do not have

appropriate access privileges• Is a process management system along the horizontal axis of the GDSS

hierarchy

qit08

Documents