Group DSS

1
Group DSS

• MSC 636
• Winter 2003

2
Group Decision Making/MDM

• Many definitions of group and group decision
  making
• Decision making characterized by collaborative
  efforts of more than one decision maker
• Benefits
• Multiple sources of knowledge experience
• Variety of perspectives
• Synergies of collaboration
• Acceptance, commitment, education

3
Basic MDM Structures
4
Networks Norms

• Wheel, Chain
• Circle, Connected
• Group norms accepted rules or expectations for
  behavior of members
• Price of continuing membership
• Norms affect quality, effectiveness, efficiency
  of group process
• Supported or altered by GDSS

5
Factors for Determining Decision Structure

• Importance of decision quality
• Knowledge expertise of DM
• Knowledge expertise of collaborators
• Importance of solution acceptance
• Risk of low acceptance
• Shared goals of collaborators
• Potential conflict in group

6
Matrix for MDM Structure Selection
Need for speed ?
7
Does Size Really Matter?

• Satisfaction decreases
• Cohesiveness decreases
• Process changes
• Participant interaction decreases
• Emotional relationships decrease
• Dominant leadership increases
• Management info sharing more difficult
• Sub-groups coalitions form
• Conflict is resolved politically rather than
  analytically

8
GroupThink (Janis)

• Agree at any cost
• Limits development of objectives criteria
• Limits search for information
• Limits unbiased analysis
• Limits consideration of risks
• Limits development of Plan B

9
Group Decision Model
Context Variables
Group Process
Task Outcomes
Group Outcomes
10
Dimensions of Group Decision Making Technology

• Synchronous vs. asynchronous
• Face-to-face vs. distributed
• Local, regional, global
• Formal vs. ad hoc
• Continuing activities or project/issue restricted

11
MDM Support Technology Categorization
12
Group Support Systems

• Systems to support group decisions, work
  processes, and other on-going activities?collabora
  tion
• Distributed
• Synchronous asynchronous
• Formal ad hoc
• Intranets/extranets (infrastructure or platform)
• Groupware (specific software)

13
Intranet Architecture

• Internet
• Collection of networks (nodes)
• 1969, US DOD, ARPANET
• Backbone (MCI ATT)
• 1990, HTML 1992, WWW 1994, Netscape browser
• Data files, graphical files, video, audio
• Intranet
• WWW-style organizational networks
• Browsers
• Secured via user password (SHTML)
• Extranet
• Secured access by external partners or mobile
  employees

14
Intranet Applications

• Publish corporate documents
• Access to searchable databases
• Access to departmental/individual pages
• Access to groupware applications
• Distribute software
• E-mail
• Consistent user interface

15
Groupware

• MDM software focusing on collaboration
• Organization memory (knowledge)
• Messaging scheduling
• Distributed conferencing
• Group writing
• Group DSS
• Screen desktop sharing
• Electronic paper flow workflow mgt.

16
Notes vs. Outlook

• Lotus Notes 6 Domino server development tools
  (IBM)
• Outlook Exchange server development tools
  (MS)
• Group communication environment w/full groupware
  featuers
• Distributed document databases
• Modularized
• Internet integration available for web access

17
Groupware

• Forces in favor of adoption (p. 164)
• Benefits
• Integrated capabilities, consistent interface,
  development environment (EIS), scalable, open
  design, bolt-ons
• Limitations
• CostSW (70/user 2,000/server?22/uer/month),
  HW, network
• Personnel
• R5 Notes admin., 4 app. admin., certifier,
  shared DB admin. network administrator
• Savings in R6 based on server consolidation,
  pushing applications to clients, lower bandwidth
  requirements, etc.

18
Integrated Groupware Products

• Lotus Notes/Domino
• Microsoft Outlook/Exchange
• Novell Groupwise
• Oracle InterOffice
• Many instant messaging tools

19
MDM Support Technology Categorization
20
Video

• War rooms with white board, overheads, video
  screens
• Ventana is corporation formed to commercialize
  the University of Arizona work in GDSS (venture
  capital from IBM)
• Note room layouts

21
Traditional Meeting Woes

• Communication bottlenecks
• Taking turns (process losses)
• Poor memory
• Political/social suppression
• Self censoring
• Status effects on evaluation
• Meeting management issues
• Unstructured discussions debates
• Inefficient ineffective
• Data analysis constraints
• Poor access to supporting information
• Poor access to modeling tools

22
Features of GDSS

• Enhance gains minimize losses (p. 157)
• Process support
• Media, simultaneous input, anonymity, recording
• Process structure
• Electronic agenda-ing, participation monitoring,
  voting, formal decision processes (I.e.,
  brainstorming, nominal group method, Delphi,
  issue mapping)
• Task support
• Analytical support through modeling data access
• Task structure
• Intelligent support for model selection, agents,
  ES

23
Classes of GDSS

• By feature
• Communication
• Analysis
• Controlled process

• By technology
• Wired conference rooms
• Networks (groupware)
• Decision rooms

24
U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
25
Defense Systems Management College
26
Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
27
Decision Room

• Electronic brainstorming
• Topic commentary
• Issue analysis
• Voting and preference indication
• Policy formation
• Stakeholder analysis
• Organization of ideas
• Evaluation of alternatives

• Survey questionnaires
• Multiple-format file readers
• Participant dictionary
• Enterprise analysis of outcomes
• MDM session management
• External data access
• Modeling analysis tools

28
Outcomes of GDSS Use

• Research is inconsistent
• Some decisions reached faster (preference)
• Anonymity increases participation
• Effect on decision quality mixed
• Effect on decision satisfaction mixed
• Questionable variables
• Types of decisions (judgment vs. other consensus
  vs. majority)
• Nature of group
• Characteristics of users
• Role of facilitator

29
GDSS Virtual Workplaces

• Telecommuting, hotelling, mobile offices, virtual
  organizations, strategic alliances, transnational
  corporations
• Need for speed
• Need for collaboration creativity
• Mobile computing technology (ubiquitous tools)
  group supporting software