Unit -5

1. Define groupware(2)(am-16)
Ans-
 Groupware is any software package designed to support more than one person working on a
shared task.
 Groupware is multiuser software that allows users to access the same data.
 Also, groupware usually provides a mechanism that helps users coordinate and keep track of
on-going projects or decision processes.
 It helps people work together through computer-supported communication, collaboration,
and coordination.
 The best known "general purpose" groupware products include Lotus Notes, Microsoft
Exchange 2000, Novell GroupWise 6, and Microsoft NetMeeting.
 Groupware is a much broader category of group support software and tools than the term
GDSS.
 In general, GDSS products are groupware.
 Not all groupware products are used however for decision support and not all groupware
products are equally useful in developing decision support capabilities.

2. Explain group decision support system (GDSS). Describe typical GDSS

configuration.
Ans-
 Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) were referred to as a Group Support
System (GSS) or an electronic meeting system since they shared similar foundations.
 A group decision support system (GDSS) is an interactive computer based
system that facilitates a number of decision-makers (working together in a group) in
finding solutions to problems that are unstructured in nature.
 They are designed in such a way that they take input from multiple users
interacting simultaneously with the systems to arrive at a decision as a group.
 The tools and techniques provided by group decision support system improve
the quality and effectiveness of the group meetings.

Characteristics of GDSS …

• Special Design

• Ease of use

• Specific and general support

 • Suppressing negative group behavior

• Supporting positive group behavior

• Organizational commitment/support

• Trained facilitators or may be user driven

• User training

• Anonymity

• Appropriate tasks

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

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

• 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

Group Decision Support System success depends on the following factors 

1. Improved pre planning.
2. Increased participation.
3. Open, collaborative meeting atmosphere.
4. Criticism free idea generation.
5. Idea organization and then evaluation.
6. Setting priorities.
7. Making decisions depending on the priorities.
8. Documentation.
9. Record keeping of the meetings.
10. Access to the external information.
11. Preservation of the ‘organization memory’.
 3. What do you mean by intelligent decision support system? Discuss its
application./ Explain IDSS with its tool and application.
Ans-
 An intelligent decision support system (IDSS) is a decision support
system that makes extensive use of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques.
 An intelligent decision support system should behave like a human
consultant: supporting decision makers by gathering and analysing evidence, identifying
and diagnosing problems, proposing possible courses of action and evaluating such
proposed actions. 
 IDSS Requirements-
 Type of decision problem (policy, operations, resource allocation, etc.)
 Domain and scope of the decision problem
 Data and knowledge availability
 Organizational and structural boundaries
 Decision-making process
 Impact on and synergy with the existing sytems
 Expected consequences of decision execution
 Profiles of decision-makers (users of the system)
 External constraints and contexts
 Objectives of the IDSS

4. Explain deliberative e-democracy and e-participation./Describe

deliberative e-democracy and e-participation how it related to DSS.
Ans-
Deliberative E-democracy-
 Deliberative democracy or discursive democracy is a form of democracy in
which deliberation is central to decision-making.
 It adopts elements of both consensus decision-making and majority rule.
 Deliberative democracy differs from traditional democratic theory in that
authentic deliberation, not mere voting, is the primary source of legitimacy for the law.
 Deliberative democracy holds that, for a democratic decision to be legitimate, it
must be preceded by authentic deliberation, not merely the aggregation of preferences
that occurs in voting. 
 Deliberative democracy can be practiced by decision-makers in
both representative democracies and direct democracies.

Five main features of deliberative democracy, which include:

 An ongoing independent association with expected continuation.

 The citizens in the democracy structure their institutions such that
deliberation is the deciding factor in the creation of the institutions and the institutions
allow deliberation to continue.
 A commitment to the respect of a pluralism of values and aims within the
polity.
 The citizens consider deliberative procedure as the source of legitimacy,
and prefer the causal history of legitimation for each law to be transparent and easily
traceable to the deliberative process.
 Each member recognizes and respects other members' deliberative
capacity.

Deliberative democracy is a field of political inquiry that is concerned with improving
collective decision-making.
 It emphasizes the right, opportunity, and capacity of anyone who is subject to a
collective decision to participate (or have their representatives participate) in
consequential deliberation about that decision.
  Deliberative democracy began as an attempt to find ways to transform politics on a
wide scale (public sphere).
 E-democracy is above all about democracy and not simply about technology.
 The evolution of e-democracy through the use of enhanced technologies should
therefore rest upon and be pursued in accordance with the principles of democratic
governance and practice.
 E-democracy presupposes the existence of a basic democratic environment, including
free and fair elections, and the enjoyment of human rights by all, in particular freedom
of expression, open and secure access of all people to the Internet, and the protection
of their privacy and personal data.
 People will only trust e-democracy if they are confident that the information and data
they disclose in the context of e-democracy processes are not being used or stored for
any other purpose, let alone used against them.
 E-democracy can help to restore the declining interest in politics and the democratic
process.
 It is an opportunity to reinvigorate representative democracy and to revisit its traditional
concepts.
 E-democracy is not a new form of democracy.
 It is additional and complementary to, and interlinked with, traditional processes of
democracy.
 It is a tool to widen the choices available to the public for engaging in the democratic
process.
 E-democracy provides new opportunities for people to become more involved in all
stages of the democratic process.
 E-democracy creates new opportunities for civic initiatives from the bottom upwards.

E-participation-

 e-participation (also written eParticipation and e-Participation)
is the term referring to "ICT-supported participation in processes involved in
government and governance".
 E-participation is hence closely related to e-government and e-
governance participation.
 The need for the term has emerged as citizen interests have
received less attention than those of the service providers in e-government
development.
 It also emerged as the need to distinguish between the roles
of citizen and customer has become more pressing.
 Usually e-participation is closely linked to e-government and e-
governance, referring to any Information and Communication Technology
(especially Internet) resources used to involve citizens in government processes.
 E-participation is intended to promote the inclusive and
conscious participation of citizens in decision making.
 E-participation is the use of ICT to broaden political participation
by enabling citizens to connect with one another and with their elected
representatives.
 Usually, e-participation is used as a macro-category that includes
a variety of areas such as e-consultation, e-legislation, e-petition and e-deliberation.
 The complexity of e-participation processes results from the large number
of different participation areas, involved stakeholders, levels of engagement, and
stages in policy making, which characterize the research and applications

Participation tools
• Wikis
• Online social networking
• Blogs

5. Write the difference between e-democracy and e-participation

6. Explain cutting edge decision support system technologies with its history,
design, implementation, benefit and pit falls.

OTHER QUESTION
1. Define e –democracy.(2)(16)
2. What is decision conferencing? Write benefit of decision conferencing.
Ans-
  Decision conferencing is a procedure for developing models quickly,
based on the knowledge and expertise of decision makers and subject matter
experts.

 Decision conferencing served to set the boundaries of the prediction

problem; to identify, define, and describe the relevant variables; and estimate
conditional probabilities.
 Decision conferencing is a common approach in decision analysis.
 It is a socio-technical process to engage key players in solving an issue of
concern by (1) developing a shared understanding of the issue,
(2) creating a sense of common purpose, and
(3) generating a commitment to the way forward.

 It consists in a series of working meetings, called 'decision conferences'.

 During a decision conference an impartial facilitator helps participants in developing a
formal model of the problem on-the-go.

Some notable applications of decision conferencing are:

 recommending options for radioactive waste disposal in the UK by the

Committee of Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM)
 priority setting in healthcare planning
 setting a strategic vision for Pernambuco, Brasil
 prioritizing public investments in social infrastructures
3. Explain how group decision support system and decision conferencing help
in decision making .