Decision Support and Artificial Intelligence

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Chapter 4

• Decision Support and Artificial Intelligence

2
How You Make a Decision

• Intelligence
• Find what to fix
• Design
• Find fixes
• Choice
• Pick the fix
• Implementation
• Apply the fix

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Decision Support Systems

• DSS (Decision Support System) is a highly
  flexible and interactive IT system that is
  designed to support decision making when the
  problem is not structured.
• The primary objective of a DSS is to improve your
  effectiveness as a decision maker.

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Components of a DSS

• Even though DSS vary greatly, they typically
  share three characteristics
• Data management component.
• Model management.
• User interface management.

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Data Management Component

• The data management component performs the
  function of storing and maintaining the
  information you want your DSS to use.
• Organizational information
• External information
• Personal information
• Personal information isnt necessarily accessible
  to the company-wide DSS

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Model Management Component

• Consists of both the DSS models and the DSS model
  management system.
• Models can be thought of as simulators.
• Example Flight simulator.
• Models in a business setting can be statistical
  models allowing you to analyze data from a
  variety of vantages.

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User Interface Management

• The user interface management allows the user to
  communicate with the DSS.
• This is the only part of the DSS where you have
  direct contact.

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DSS and Lands End

• Lands End has identified 20 different specialty
  target markets.
• Consumers receive catalogs with items they are
  likely to buy from.
• Saves Lands End money because they dont need to
  try and sell all of their products to all of
  their customers.

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DSS and Lands End

• Data Management
• Stores customer and product information.
• Also stores demographic (external) information.
• Model Management
• Models help Lands End decision makers decide
  what product lines they need to develop.
• User Interface Management
• Allows Lands End decision makers to access
  information and specify models.

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GDSS --Group Decision Support Systems

• GDSS is a type of decision support system that
  facilitates the formulation of and a solution to
  problems by a team.
• GDSS facilitates team decision making by
  integrating
• Groupware
• DSS capabilities
• Telecommunications

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GDSS Group Decision Support System

• A type of decision support system that
  facilitates the formulation of and solution to
  problems by a team.
• Integrates
• Groupware
• DSS capabilities
• Telecommunications

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Groupware

• Usually combines a suite of tools such as email,
  calendaring, and document management.
• Product Examples
• Microsoft Outlook
• Novell GroupWise
• IBM Lotus Notes/Domino
• Oracle Collaboration Suite
• Oracle Example
• http//www.informationweek.com/shared/printableArt
  icle?doc_idIWK20021112S0001
• Visa Norway Example
• http//www.novell.com/success/visa_norway.html

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Team Decision Making

• Facilitator is often present
• Brainstorming
• At this level avoid discussing the merits or
  drawbacks of an idea.
• Jot down the idea, build on it or move on.
• Issue categorization and analysis
• Arrange your ideas into manageable
  classifications.
• Here you can toss out ideas that wont help solve
  your current problem.
• Ranking and voting
• Prioritize and vote on the ideas.

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Meetings A Few Notes

• Common sense issues that are too often forgotten.
• If you are conducting the meeting
• Prepare an agenda ahead of time.
• If necessary, get meeting items by emailing
  others who will be attending the meeting.
• Show up on time.
• During the meeting, stick to your agenda.
• If you stumble upon a tangent topic, you need to
  make a decision on how much time you want to
  spend on that topic.
• Take it offline.
• Often meeting items drag on and are unnecessarily
  revisited.
• Set up a time to meet with that person after the
  meeting to discuss.

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Meetings A Few Notes

• Have someone keep the meeting minutes.
• Follow-up on your minutes during the next
  meeting.
• Dont just mention them. See what action has been
  taken on important issues.
• Dont keep people past the scheduled meeting time
  unless it is productive.
• Too many times, meetings run over because the
  person holding the meeting cant control the
  agenda.
• Dont be afraid to politely cut someone off if
  they are trying to take away the agenda from you.
• Yes, they will be angry, but you will win support
  from your other co-workers.

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Meetings A Few Notes

• You dont always have to meet for weekly
  scheduled meetings.
• A lot of time is wasted because of routine.
• Cancel the meeting if no one has anything new or
  important to add.
• You may need to find out why nothing has happened
  or it just might be the current workflow.

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Skipping These Topics

• Geographic Information Systems
• Same-Time Meetings
• Different-Time Meetings

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AI -- Artificial Intelligence

• AI is the science of making machines imitate
  human thinking and behavior.
• IT can further augment business brainpower by
  using AI.
• What is the difference between a car (mechanical
  device) and a robot (intelligent device?)
• The robot has the capability of taking action on
  its own, whereas the car does not.

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Intelligent Agents

• Software that assists you in performing
  repetitive tasks and it adapts itself to your
  preferences.
• Four types of intelligent agents.
• Find and retrieve agents.
• User agents.
• Monitor and surveillance agents.
• Data-mining agents.

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Find and Retrieve Agents

• Buyer agents and shopping bots
• Intelligent agents that look on the web for the
  product of your choice.
• Retrieves prices.

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User Agents

• Intelligent agents that help an individual
  perform computer-related tasks.
• Usually work in the background.
• Example
• Programs that automatically check for your email
  and alert you when it is something you want.
• Agents that fill out forms on the web
  automatically for you.
• Agents that scan web sites and highlight text
  that you are interested in.

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Monitor and Surveillance Agents

• Perform continual and repetitive tasks that keep
  working in the background.
• Used in push technology
• Sending information to your computer without a
  special request for it.
• Email does not come at a pre-arranged time.
• Example
• Network monitoring agents that examine the load
  on a network to make sure it has ample memory.
• Sun Microsystems new idea for network computing.

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Data Mining Agents

• Operates in a data warehouse discovering
  information.

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SETI
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In-class Shopping Exercise

• Page 153 in text.