11/29/12 Group decision support sy stems - Wikipedia, the f ree ency clopedia

Group decision support systems

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) are a class of electronic meeting systems, a collaboration technology designed to support meetings and group work .[1] GDSS are distinct from computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) technologies as GDSS are more focused on task support, whereas CSCW tools provide general communication support .[1] Group Decision Support Systems are categorized within a time-place paradigm. Different features may be required for synchronous vs asynchronous communication, as well as local vs distant.

Contents
1 Research 2 Systems 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

Research
Significant research supports measuring impacts of: Adapting human factors for these technologies, Facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration, and Promoting effective organizational learning. In the 1980s, a commercial joint venture between IBM and the U.S. Department of Defense created a new form of software as a solution to improve the decision alignment between various branches of the armed forces. This first commercial (DOS-based) technology was developed by behavioral scientist Dr. Jerry Wagner and was called VisionQuest. In the 1990's while at the University of Texas, Austin campus, Dr. Wagner secured venture capital funding to develop new GDSS software, this time with the end goal of leveraging the Internet (which was becoming mainstream by now). The new technology was WebIQ and is now called WIQ (by ynSyte). [http://www.gowiq.com} Academic work on Group Decision Support Systems was largely led in the 1980s and 1990s by the University of Minnesota (the SAMM System) and the University of Arizona (PLEXSYS, later renamed GroupSystems). The Arizona research software was spun off as Ventana Corporation (now known as GroupSystems Inc.). The University of Arizona researchers report both benefits and costs for their electronic meeting system.[2] The benefits, or process gains, from using a GDSS (over more traditional group techniques) are: More precise communication;
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_decision_support_sy stems 1/4

11/29/12 Group decision support sy stems - Wikipedia, the f ree ency clopedia

Synergy: members are empowered to build on ideas of others; More objective evaluation of ideas; Stimulation of individuals to increase participation; Learning: group members imitate and learn from successful behaviors of others. The costs, or process losses, from using a GDSS (instead of more traditional group techniques) are: More free riding; More information overload; More flaming; Slower feedback; Fewer information cues; Incomplete use of information. However, the researchers found that GDSS over traditional group techniques limited or reduced the following process losses: Less attention blocking Less conformance pressure Less airtime fragmentation Less attenuation blocking Less socializing Less individual domination

Systems
Commercial software products that support GDSS practices over the Internet in both synchronous and asynchronous settings include ynSyte's WIQ, spilter.nl, facilitate.com, MeetingSphere (formerly smartSpeed), ThinkTank. There is also an initiative to create open-source software that can support similar group processes in education, where this category of software has been called a Discussion Support System. See CoFFEE.

See also
Collaboratory Computer-mediated communication Computer-supported collaboration Electronic meeting system Groupware Global brain Project management List of collaborative software

References
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_decision_support_sy stems 2/4

11/29/12

1. ^ a b Dennis, A.R., George, J.F., Jessup, L.M., Nunamaker Jr., J.F., and Vogel, D.R. "Information Technology to Support Electronic Meetings" MIS Quarterly (12:4), pp. 591-624, Dec 1988. 2. ^ Template:Citation1980s).

External links
Thoughts on a Group Support System (http://www.praxagora.com/stevet/fdnc/ch10.html) This is Chapter 10 of The Future Does Not Compute: Transcending the Machines in Our Midst, by Stephen L. Talbott. (Sebastopol CA: O'Reilly & Associates, 1995). Hardcover, 502 pages. ISBN 1-56592-085-6 Electronic Meeting Systems at Work (http://www.luca.com/cpajournal/1995/dec95/f261295.htm) by Uday S. Murthy and L. Murphy Smith The authors describe the guidelines and strategies for putting electronic meeting systems to work and present details and comparisons on two of the available less expensive software packages. A Brief History of Decision Support Systems (http://dssresources.com/history/dsshistory.html) by D. J. Power - Editor, DSSResources.COM Current trends in Computer Mediated Collaboration (http://www.cdacmumbai.in/vidyakash/reports/cmcreport.html) Report by Philip S Tellis, Staff Scientist, ETU Division, NCST, Juhu Hurricane Katrina: Redefining the Essence of Homeland Security (http://cisac.stanford.edu/events/katrina_redefining_the_essence_of_homeland_security/) (2005). thinkLets (http://www.answers.com/topic/thinklets) (Wikimedia mirror of related article that was purged.) Harvard Business Review (http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbrsa/en/hbrsaLogin.jhtml;jsessionid=CCJMMFPFTKUO0 AKRG5DCELQBKE12GISW;$urlparam$kNRXE2ULYRiR52NiwJYH5SF? ID=F0603D&path=arc&pubDate=March2006&referral=null&_requestid=13408) (HBR Reprint F0603D) March 2006 Conversation column by Gardiner Morse "Connecting Maverick Minds" ... Geoffrey West, president of the Santa Fe Institute, a unique research community that innovates by mixing disciplines, talks about why free thinking matters. 2006 (http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/HICSS39/fcscfp.htm#Designing%20Collaboration%20Processes%20and%20 Systems) HICSS-39 Thinklets (Collaboration techniques and processes) 2001 (http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_34/colcfp.htm) HICSS-34 Mini-Track Topics (Collaboration systems and technology) 1996-GSS (http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_29/info1a.htm#gss) HICSS-29 Mini-Track Topics (Group Support Systems) 1996-GUE (http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_29/info1a.htm#gue) (Groupware User Experiences)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_decision_support_sy stems 3/4

11/29/12 Group decision support sy stems - Wikipedia, the f ree ency clopedia

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Group_decision_support_systems&oldid=515864965" Categories: Anticipatory thinking Futurology Groupware Information systems This page was last modified on 3 October 2012 at 21:59. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_decision_support_sy stems

4/4