July 13, 2015 -- An edited volume is in preparation that will be a collection of case studies of specific decision support systems that have been implemented in organizations. The editors are Jason Papathanasiou, University of Macedonia, Greece; Nikolaos Ploskas, Carnegie Mellon University, USA; and Isabelle Linden, University of Namur, Belgium.

The editors are interested in presenting cases of real world Decision Support Systems, i.e. systems that have been implemented and actually used for a period of time to some purpose. The presented cases can be in any domain and do not have to be only about systems currently in use; it can be a DSS that was active for some time and stopped being further supported. In that case, we are interested in getting answers to questions like what were the reasons it stopped being updated and exploited and why did the users decided to pursue a new approach. We are also interested in DSSs where development began but at some point in the development process they somehow failed and were deemed as failed projects. What were the real reasons behind the failure? How can this be avoided so it doesn't happen again? The overall and primary goal in each case study is to point out the lessons learned in each stage of the system life cycle, from the initial requirements analysis and design phases to the final stages of the project.

We particularly also seek to find out the user experiences after some time of system use; what are the derived good practices during development and usage and what should be avoided. The case studies should also be presented in a constructive, coherent and deductive manner, in order to act as show cases for instructive purposes; including UML diagrams is especially encouraged. Finally, each case study should try and follow as much as possible a certain structure according to a template provided by the editors to ensure adherence to the volumes perceived goals.

Possible application domains include (but not limited to): Environment, Agriculture and Forestry; Business and Finance; Education; Engineering; Food Industry; Health Care; Production and Supply Chain Management; and Urban Planning.

There has been a keen interest in this edited book by Springer and the editors anticipate signing a contract shortly after the contributor list is finalized. Interested authors are invited to submit chapter proposals (approx. 500 words) by 30 August 2015. All proposals will be reviewed by the editors; invitations to contribute chapters will be sent out by late September. Please send chapter proposals or queries directly to Nikolaos Ploskas, Carnegie Mellon University, at email ploskasn@gmail.com .

Submission and expected approval dates for prospective contributors
1. Chapter proposals submission deadline: 30 August 2015
2. Proposal decision notification: 30 September 2015
3. Full chapters due: 30 December 2015
4. Full chapter decision: 30 January 2016
5. Revisions due: 30 March 2016
6. Projected publication date: mid/end of 2016

Jason Papathanasiou, University of Macedonia, Greece, jasonp@uom.edu.gr

Nikolaos Ploskas, Carnegie Mellon University, USA, ploskasn@gmail.com

Isabelle Linden, University of Namur, Belgium, isabelle.linden@unamur.be