Report writing principles and practices

Business

Decision Support System

A decision support system is a way in which to mold data and make quality decisions based upon that data. Being able to make the right decisions in business is usually based on the quality of the data that you have and the ability to sift through it while analyzing it for trends. DSS or decision support systems are usually computer applications that along with a human component can filter through large amounts of data and pick out what is most important (What is a Decision Support System, 2009).

Many people still think of decision support systems as specialized parts of a business, but in fact most companies have actually integrated this system into their day-to-day operations. For example there are many companies that download and analyze sales data, budget sheets and forecasts and then update their strategy once they analyze and evaluate that data. "Decision support systems have a definite structure in businesses, but in reality, the data and decisions that are based on it are fluid and constantly changing" (What is a Decision Support System, 2009).

The key to the use of decision support systems is to collect data, analyze and shape the data and then try to make sound decisions form the analysis. It is the process of taking raw or unstructured data, containing and collecting it and then using it to help aid decision making that is the ultimate goal. It is important to remember that even though computers and artificial intelligence are at work with the data, it is in the end up to human beings to execute the strategies or comprehend the data and make it usable (What is a Decision Support System?, 2009).

The field of DSS does not have a universally accepted model which means that there are many theories that are at work. And because there are many working theories there are many DSS applications that are available. For example, one DSS application is that of Document Driven DSS support systems. It is estimated that American businesses store almost 1.3 trillion documents which can use up to 50% of a company's floor space. Yet only 5 to 10% of these documents are readily available to managers for them to use in decision making. There is also the problem of documents not being standardized in a uniform pattern or structure. Managers and IT staff need a way to transform these documents into formats that can be compared and processed in order to support decision making. Document-driven DSS is making this concept a real possibility (Document -- Driven DSS Resources, 2009).