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DSS News
D. J. Power, Editor
July 7, 2002 -- Vol. 3, No. 14
A Bi-Weekly Publication of DSSResources.COM
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Check Guy Haddleton's article "20/20 foresight"
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Featured:
* DSS Wisdom
* Ask Dan! - What are the main differences between GDSS and
Groupware?
* What's New at DSSResources.COM
* DSS News Releases
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Get information about Dan Power's new book, Decision Support
Systems: Concepts and Resources for Managers, at
http://www.dssresources.com/dssbookstore/power02.html .
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DSS News is sent to more than 850 subscribers from 50
countries. Please forward this newsletter to people interested
in Decision Support Systems and suggest they subscribe.
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DSS Wisdom
In their book "In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run
Companies", Tom Peters and Bob Waterman wrote "We are struck by the
importance of available information as the basis for peer comparison.
Surprisingly, this is the basic control mechanism in the excellent
companies. It is not the military model at all. It is not a chain of
command wherein nothing happens until the boss tells somebody to do
something. General objectives and values are set forward and information
is shared so widely that people know quickly whether or not the job is
getting done--and who's doing it well or poorly. (p. 266)"
from Peters, T. J. and R. H. Waterman, Jr., In Search of Excellence:
Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies, New York, NY: Harper & Row,
1982.
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Ask Dan!
by Daniel J. Power
What are the main differences between GDSS and Groupware?
Definition questions like this one are common in my email and on the
DSSResources.COM Bulletin Board. Emma Gilmartin posted the above
question on May 01, 2002 and my response was posted a few days later. I
answered a related question in the Ask Dan! column of March 24, 2001
titled "What is a Group Decision Support System?" In this Ask Dan!, I'll
try to expand on my previous column.
In general, group decision support systems (GDSS) are interactive,
computer-based systems that facilitate solution of semi-structured and
unstructured problems by a designated set of decision-makers working
together as a group. A GDSS can assist groups, especially groups of
managers, in analyzing problem situations and in performing group
decision making tasks. GDSS include structured decision tools for tasks
like brainstorming, commenting on ideas, and rating and ranking of
alternatives (cf., DeSanctis and Gallupe, 1987).
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.
For the past few years, I have encouraged and advocated the use of a new
umbrella term -- Communications-Driven DSS. The free DSS Glossary at
DSSResources.COM defines a Communications-Driven DSS as a decision
support system that uses network and communication technologies to
facilitate collaboration and group communication. For a
Communications-Driven DSS, communication technologies are central to
supporting decision-making. Network and communication technologies
provide the dominant functionality used for decision support.
GDSS are in some ways hybrid systems with an important model component
that provide decision support functions and capabilities, yet GDSS can
only provide support to the group because of the network and
communication technologies. So based on an assessment of what technology
provides the "dominant functionality" for decision support, GDSS and
many decision support systems built using groupware products are
Communications-Driven DSS. For some web links, check the page on
Communications-Driven DSS at DSSResources.COM.
References
DeSanctis, G., and R. Gallupe, "A Foundation for the Study of Group
Decision Support Systems," Management Science, May 1987, 33(5).
Power, D. J. "What are group decision support systems and how do they
work?", DSS News, Vol. 2, No. 7, 03/25/2001.
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What's New at DSSResources.COM
07/02/2002 Updated Document-Driven DSS Resources page.
07/01/2002 Posted Italian version of "What is a DSS?", translated by
Andrea Montoli.
06/30/2002 Posted redesigned front page for DSSResources.COM.
06/28/2002 Posted article by Haddleton, G., "Out of Sight, Out of Mind?
Not any more with 20/20 foresight!", DSSResources.COM, 06/28/2002
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DSS News Releases - June 22, 2002 to July 7, 2002
Complete news releases can be found at DSSResources.COM.
07/01/2002 Burlington Coat Factory selects Workbrain ERM solution.
07/01/2002 Bank of Newport deploys FMSI's products to change its
scheduling approach.
07/01/2002 Reliant Energy uses Centra Web Collaboration platform to
support SAP rollout and for online meetings.
07/01/2002 eGain's Knowledge Management Software incorporates experience
with thousands of service agents, millions of web sessions.
07/01/2002 New Verity K2 Enterprise takes Knowledge Management to a
higher level of power, flexibility and value.
06/28/2002 IBM Exec says "Technology Integration Plays Key Role in
Future Success of Transportation Industry".
06/27/2002 Procter & Gamble and MatrixOne enter license agreement;
MatrixOne will market P&G’s technical specifications management
application.
06/27/2002 Adaytum announced contracts with two municipal agencies for
its e.Planning Public Sector software.
06/26/2002 Colorado Springs Utilities Selects Brio Software for
Organization-Wide Performance Monitoring.
06/26/2002 Siebel ERM provides portal architecture with every Siebel 7
application.
06/26/2002 HP mobilizes management, information and checkout with
wireless retailing solutions.
06/26/2002 Quiver unveils QKS Topic Advisor™, accelerating taxonomy
deployments.
06/25/2002 CCH Enteract selects Crystal Ball to capture power of Monte
Carlo simulation.
06/25/2002 Burger King Corporation Selects SAP to Enable Information
Technology Strategy.
06/25/2002 Alphablox extends BEA Weblogic Platform 7.0 with full suite
of business analytics services.
06/24/2002 Cognos introduces Cognos Finance 6.0.
06/24/2002 Best Software partners with HumanConcepts to provide
additional organizational charting capabilities.
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You can read 783 DSS News releases in
the Subscriber Zone at DSSResources.COM.
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at http://dssresources.com/newsletters/ .
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DSS News is copyrighted (c) 2002 by D. J. Power. Please send your questions to
daniel.power@dssresources.com.
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