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Chapter
10
Decision Support Systems
Web-based dashboards
Displays critical information in graphic form
Assembled from data pulled in real time from
corporate software and databases
Managers see changes almost instantaneously
Now available to smaller companies
Potential problems
Pressure on employees
Divisions in the office
Tendency to hoard information
Case Study Questions
Structured (operational)
The procedures to follow when decision
is needed can be specified in advance
Unstructured (strategic)
It is not possible to specify in advance
most of the decision procedures to follow
Semi-structured (tactical)
Decision procedures can be pre-specified,
but not enough to lead to the correct decision
Decision Support Systems
Model Base
A software component that consists of
models used in computational and analytical
routines that mathematically express relations
among variables
Spreadsheet Examples
Linear programming
Multiple regression forecasting
Capital budgeting present value
Applications of Statistics and Modeling
OLAP
Enables managers and analysts to examine
and manipulate large amounts of detailed and
consolidated data from many perspectives
Done interactively, in real time, with rapid
response to queries
Online Analytical Operations
Consolidation
Aggregation of data
Example: data about sales offices rolled up
to the district level
Drill-Down
Display underlying detail data
Example: sales figures by individual product
Slicing and Dicing
Viewing database from different viewpoints
Often performed along a time axis
OLAP Configuration
GIS
DSS uses geographic databases to construct
and display maps and other graphic displays
Supports decisions affecting the geographic
distribution of people and other resources
Often used with Global Positioning Systems
(GPS) devices
Data Visualization Systems
DVS
Represents complex data using interactive,
three-dimensional graphical forms
(charts, graphs, maps)
Helps users interactively sort, subdivide,
combine, and organize data while it is in its
graphical form
DVS Example
Sensitivity Analysis
Observing how repeated changes to a single
variable affect other variables
Goal-seeking Analysis
Making repeated changes to selected variables
until a chosen variable reaches a target value
Optimization Analysis
Finding an optimum value for selected variables,
given certain constraints
Data Mining
EIS
Combines many features of MIS and DSS
Provide top executives with immediate and
easy access to information
Identify factors that are critical to accomplishing
strategic objectives (critical success factors)
So popular that it has been expanded to managers,
analysis, and other knowledge workers
Features of an EIS
Decision Support
Helps capture the why as well as the what of
engineered design and decision making
Information Retrieval
Distills tidal waves of information into simple
presentations
Natural language technology
Database mining
Latest Commercial Applications of AI
Virtual Reality
X-ray-like vision enabled by enhanced-reality
visualization helps surgeons
Automated animation and haptic interfaces
allow users to interact with virtual objects
Robotics
Machine-vision inspections systems
Cutting-edge robotics systems
From micro robots and hands and legs, to cognitive
and trainable modular vision systems
Expert Systems
Knowledge Base
Facts about a specific subject area
Heuristics that express the reasoning procedures
of an expert (rules of thumb)
Software Resources
An inference engine processes the knowledge
and recommends a course of action
User interface programs communicate with
the end user
Explanation programs explain the reasoning
process to the end user
Components of an Expert System
Methods of Knowledge Representation
Case-Based
Knowledge organized in the form of cases
Cases are examples of past performance,
occurrences, and experiences
Frame-Based
Knowledge organized in a hierarchy or
network of frames
A frame is a collection of knowledge about
an entity, consisting of a complex package
of data values describing its attributes
Methods of Knowledge Representation
Object-Based
Knowledge represented as a network of objects
An object is a data element that includes both
data and the methods or processes that act on
those data
Rule-Based
Knowledge represented in the form of rules
and statements of fact
Rules are statements that typically take the
form of a premise and a conclusion (If, Then)
Expert System Application Categories
Decision Management
Loan portfolio analysis
Employee performance evaluation
Insurance underwriting
Diagnostic/Troubleshooting
Equipment calibration
Help desk operations
Medical diagnosis
Software debugging
Expert System Application Categories
Design/Configuration
Computer option installation
Manufacturability studies
Communications networks
Selection/Classification
Material selection
Delinquent account identification
Information classification
Suspect identification
Process Monitoring/Control
Expert System Application Categories
Process Monitoring/Control
Machine control (including robotics)
Inventory control
Production monitoring
Chemical testing
Benefits of Expert Systems
A knowledge engineer
Works with experts to capture the knowledge
(facts and rules of thumb) they possess
Builds the knowledge base, and if necessary,
the rest of the expert system
Performs a role similar to that of systems
analysts in conventional information systems
development
Neural Networks
Fuzzy logic
Resembles human reasoning
Allows for approximate values and
inferences and incomplete or ambiguous data
Uses terms such as very high instead of
precise measures
Used more often in Japan than in the U.S.
Used in fuzzy process controllers used in
subway trains, elevators, and cars
Example of Fuzzy Logic Rules and Query
Genetic Algorithms