DSS Design and Development Questionnaire

developed by D. J. Power

The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect information about the process used in designing and developing a specific Decision Support System. All information provided will be treated as confidential and only aggregated results will be reported.

Please answer the following questions in reference to a specific DSS developed in your company.

I. Demographic and General Information:

Name of respondent:
Position/title:
Company:
Respondent e-mail address:
Purpose of the DSS:
Primary DSS product used:
Other DSS products used:
Type of DSS application developed:
DSS implementation date:
Number of months for DSS development:
Number of people on DSS project team:
Approximate cost of development:

II. Design and development questions:

For the DSS identified above, please indicate the extent to which you agree with each of the following 22 statements by circling your response.

1. The approach taken to designing and developing the DSS was very structured.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

2. Requirements (logical design) for the DSS were specified in detail.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

3. An iterative design approach was used with a short development cycle, repeated many times.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

4. We conducted a detailed analysis of user's requirements and goals.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

5. We conducted a detailed evaluation and selection of technical alternatives.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

6. We specifically selected the part of the decision process that would be supported.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

7. We defined a normative decision process for the problem.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

8. We investigated and evaluated alternative DSS development environments.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

9. A software engineering tool was used to design the system.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

10. A rapid prototype was developed for the DSS.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

11. Management, users, and systems personnel were actively involved in the development process.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

12. An initial analysis was conducted to determine the feasibility of the DSS project.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

13. A detailed operational/economic feasibility study was performed to determine if the project was
important enough to warrant the money, time, and effort required to build a DSS.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

14. IS personnel were involved as change agents in the introduction of the DSS in the organization.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

15. The DSS project had a clearly stated set of objectives to meet.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

16. The DSS project had specific cost constraints.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

17. The DSS project had a time limit for completion.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

18. A physical design was developed for the DSS specifying data flows, data structures, and procedures.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

19. The DSS was extensively tested during development.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

20. Potential users were extensively involved in the developmental testing of the DSS.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

21. Once completed, the DSS was formally reviewed by senior managers prior to final system implementation.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7

22. The DSS was installed using which of the following approaches?

1. Immediate implementation for all users and components
2. Phased implementation for all users and components
3. Parallel operation of an old system and the new DSS
4. Pilot operation of the DSS, then phased implementation

If you have questions or comments about this questionnaire, please contact Prof. Daniel J. Power at power@dssresources.com.

This questionnaire is copyrighted � 1996-2002 by Daniel J. Power. It was created and is maintained by Professor Daniel J. Power, Department of Management, College of Business Administration, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA USA. The questionnaire was initially posted on December 5, 1996 at URL http://dss.cba.uni.edu/dssquest/. This page was last updated on March 26, 2002. The URL for this page is http://dssresources.com/survey/dssquest.html. This questionnaire may be used for research purposes. Please notify the author that the questionnaire is being used and cite this web page as a reference.

Cite as: Power, D. J. "DSS Design and Development Questionnaire", URL DSSResources.COM/survey/dssquest.html, accessed on Month/Day/Year.