Group Decision Support System

Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS)

Group Support Systems (GSS) Electronic Meeting Systems Collaborative Computing

Evolved as information technology researchers recognized that technology could be developed for supporting meeting activities – Idea generation– Consensus building– Anonymous ranking – Voting, etc.

GDSS Definition

Consists of a set of software, hardware, language components, and procedures that support a group of people engaged in a decision-related meeting (Huber [1984])

An interactive computer-based system that facilitates the solution of unstructured problems by a group of decision makers.

Components of a GDSS include hardware, software, people, and procedures

Important Characteristics

of a GDSS Specially Designed IS Goal of Supporting Groups of Decision

Makers Easy to Learn and Use May be designed for one type of

problem or for many organizational decisions

Designed to encourage group activities Attempts to minimize process losses

Why Use GDSS? High level managers can spend 80% of their time making

decisions in groups. Applied correctly, GDSS can reduce this time, arriving at a better decision faster.

GDSS provides the hardware, software, databases and procedures for effective decision making.

Typical GDSS Meeting Characteristics Organizational commitment/support Trained facilitators or may be user

driven User training Anonymity Appropriate tasks Dedicated decision rooms

GDSS Time/Place Environment

Same-Time

Same-Place(Most widely used GDSS-

computers with projectors, voting tools)

Same-Time

Different-Place(team room, tools, audio

conferencing, screen sharing, chat)

Different-Time

Same-Place(audio/video conferencing,

document sharing)

Different-Time

Different-Place(voice mail, email, bulletin boards)

GDSS: Part of GSS (Group support system) or

Electronic Meeting Systems (EMS) “An information technology (IT)-based

environment that supports group meetings, which may be distributed geographically and temporally. The IT environment includes, but is not limited to, distributed facilities, computer hardware and software, audio and video technology, procedures, methodologies, facilitation, and applicable group data. Group tasks include, but are not limited to, communication, planning, idea generation, problem solving, issue discussion, negotiation, conflict resolution, system analysis and design, and collaborative group activities such as document preparation and sharing

GDSS Settings

Single Location Multiple Locations

Common Group Activities– Information Retrieval– Information Sharing– Information Use

The Goal of GDSS and Its Technology Levels

Goal - to improve the productivity and effectiveness of decision-making meetings, either – by speeding up the decision-making

process or – by improving the quality of the resulting

decisions

GDSS attempts to – Increase the benefits of group work– Decrease the losses– By providing support to the group

members

GDSS Technology Levels

Level 1: Process Support Level 2: Decision-Making

Support Level 3: Rules of Order

Level 1: Process Support

Goal - to reduce or remove communication barriers

Supports– Electronic messaging– Networks (Local)– Public screen– Anonymous input of ideas and votes– Active solicitation of ideas or votes– Summary and display of ideas and opinions and

votes– Agenda format– Continuous display of the agenda, etc.

Level 2: Decision-Making Support

Adds modeling and decision analysis Goal - to reduce uncertainty and

noise Provide task gains Features

– Planning and financial models– Decision trees– Probability assessment models– Resource allocation models– Social judgment models

Level 3: Rules of Order

Focus on decision making process

Controls its timing, content or message patterns

GDSS Technology

GDSS Technology Options 1.Special-purpose electronic meeting

facility (decision room)2.General purpose computer lab 3.Web (Internet) / Intranet or LAN-based

software for any place / any time Components

– Hardware– Software– People– Procedures

GDSS Hardware

1. Single PC2. PCs and Keypads3. Decision Room4. Distributed GDSS

GDSS Software

Modules to support the individual, the group, the process and specific tasks

Typical Group Features – Numerical / graphical summarization of ideas,

and votes– Programs calculating weights for alternatives;

anonymous idea recording; selection of a group leader; progressive rounds of voting; or elimination of redundant input

– Text and data transmission among the group members, between the group members and the facilitator, and between the members and a central data / document repository.

People

Group Members Facilitator (Chauffeur)

Procedures (that enable ease of operation and effective use of the technology)

The GDSS Meeting Process

1. Group leader meets with facilitator to – Plan the meeting– Select the software tools – Develop an agenda

2. Participants are gathered in the decision room and the leader poses a question or problem to the group.

3. Participants type their ideas or comments4. Facilitator searches for common themes, topics, and ideas

and organizes them into rough categories (key ideas) 5. Leader starts a discussion and participants prioritize the

ideas6. Top 5 to 10 topics are routed to idea generation software,

after discussion 7. Repeat the process

GDSS In Focus 10.4: Critical Success Factors ofSame Time/Same Place GDSS

1. Organizational commitment--a must2. Executive sponsor who is committed and informed3. Operating sponsor to provide quick feedback4. Dedicated facilities with attention to aesthetics and user comfort5. Reciprocal site visits that recognize the need for informed personnel

who understand the EMS environment6. Communication and liaison extending beyond site visits--important in

maintaining responsiveness to questions arising7. Fast iteration of software changes--critical to meet evolving needs8. Training for site personnel at technical, facilitation and end-user

levels9. Transfer of control to site personnel10. Cost/benefit evaluation--crucial to expansion of EMS beyond initial

trials11. Software usage flexibility--essential for meeting the evolving needs of

groups12. Appropriate planning--essential (suggestions for structured planning

sessions are provided by some vendors)13. Meeting managerial expectations--the ultimate indicator of successful

EMS implementation14. A seductive user interface (see Gray and Olfman [1989])15. Anonymity--very important (see Jessup et al.[1990])16. Facilitation--very important (see Anson et al.[1995])17. Selection of an appropriate task (issue)--very important (see Benbasat

and Lim [1993]).

(Source: Based on IBM's experience (Grohowski and McGoff [1990]) and on the Universityof Arizona experimentation.)

More on Critical Success Factors for

GDSS 1. Design

a) Enhance the structured of unstructured decisions

b) Anonymityc) Organizational involvementd) Ergonomic (science of work and a

person’s relationship to that work. )considerations

2.Implementationa) Extensive and proper user trainingb) Support of top managementc)Qualified facilitator.d) Execute trial runs

3.Managementa) Reliable systemb) Incrementally improve systemc)GDSS staff keeps up with technology

User involvement and participants’ behavior are also important factors

Building Decision Rooms Using Off-the-Shelf Software

Advantages of GDSS Anonymity – drive out fear leading to

better decisions from a diverse hierarchy of decision makers

Parallel Communication – eliminate monopolizing providing increased participation, better decisions

Automated record keeping – no need to take notes, they’re automatically recorded

Ability for virtual meetings – only need hardware, software and people connected

Portability - Can be set up to be portable… laptop

Global Potential - People can be connected across the world

No need for a computer guru – although some basic experience is a must

Disadvantages of GDSS Cost –infrastructure costs to provide the

hardware and software/room/network connectivity can be very expensive

Security – especially true when companies rent the facilities for GDSS; also, the facilitator may be a lower-level employee who may leak information to peers

Technical Failure – power loss, loss of connectivity, relies heavily on bandwidth and LAN/WAN infrastructure – properly setup system should minimize this risk

Disadvantages of GDSS

Keyboarding Skills – reduced participation may result due to frustration

Training – learning curve is present for users, varies by situation

Perception of messages – lack of verbal communication could lead to misinterpretation

Examples of GDSS 1) “One example of implementation of

GDSS is at IBM. They, as well as many other corporations, initiated GDSS to improve group meetings. A specific case involved a plant manager not being able to identify the cause of problems with shop floor control. After having a meeting for two hours with plant personnel all that resulted were arguments and bad feelings.

So after meeting with the company's GDSS facilitator, the manager decided to have ten plant employees, himself, and two junior analysts participate in a GDSS program. They would use electronic brainstorming and voting to resolve the shop floor control problem.

The manager and the facilitator decided the topic would be "What are the key issues in improving shop floor control?"

After brainstorming for 35 minutes and compiling 645 lines of suggestions, ideas and comments on how to improve shop floor control, the manager found that he had gotten useful information about the issue for the first time.

A list was compiled of the comments and then the members of the group ranked them in order of importance. The results were displayed and a discussion occurred for ten minutes. The manager thanked the participants and was given a printout of all the discussion and results of the group vote”

2) “Another example is Hewlett-Packard. Their human-factors engineers work at locations all over the world. And they meet in person only once a year. The rest of the time, they have frequent, ongoing meetings to discuss professional and company issues. But they have these discussions through an electronic conference and final decision making is done with the aid of GDSS”

Best Uses Of GDSS

Complex decision making For Large Groups – a meeting of 2 or

3 people does not justify GDSS investment

Paradigm Shift? Early computers were used primarily for

computations such as plotting the paths of missiles. As businesses began to adopt computer technology, the use of computers shifted to more for data storage and retrieval rather computational. Recently, computers have been extensively used for communication. For example Email and the advent of the internet has created exponential growth in the use of the computer in the last part of the decade. We seem to be in the primary stages of a paradigm shift, where the background of culture and tradition which guides the way people use computers is changing.

Future Implications of GDSS Integrating into existing corporate framework

– GDSS brings changes which must be managed GDSS will incorporate Artificial Intelligence and

Expert Systems – the software will “learn” and help the users make better decisions

Decreasing cost will allow more organizations to use GDSS

Increasing implementation of GDSS with the customer– Customer voice their needs in non-threatening

environment

Future Implications of GDSS GDSS may play a large role in the

future of the virtual companies GDSS can help the virtual companies

do business in the global business environment

GDSS can help promote a culturally diverse work environment

Telework seems to make a lot of sense using GDSS

Choosing The Right GDSS Consider the following;

– Decision Task Type– Group Size– Location of members of the group