4 - Business Decision Support Systems (BDSS)

What is a decision support system?

• Chambers dictionary (1993): A system which assists in decision- making by using one or more computers and programs to provide and organize data.

• Oxford online (2025): A decision support system is an interactive human–computer decision-making system that supports decision makers rather than replaces them, utilizing data and models.

• OpenAI – ChatGPT 5.2: A decision support system (DSS) is a computer-based information system that collects, processes, and analyzes data to support decision-making by helping users evaluate alternatives, understand consequences, and make informed choices, especially in complex or semi-structured situations

A Simple Model

Business + Decisions | Support Systems

BI/MIS vs DSS

What are DSS

• DSS are commonly described as interactive computer-based systems supporting decision making, especially for semi-structured / unstructured problems.

• The structured vs semi-structured vs unstructured view is strongly associated with the classic decision support framework often attributed to Gorry & Scott Morton (1971)

• “Data-driven / model-driven / knowledge-driven …” is a standard DSS type categorization used in reference works.

DSS keywords 2010-2019

• Decision Making

• Risk / Uncertainty

• DSS for Agrotechnology Transfer

• GIS

• Climate

• Sustainable Development

• Clinical

• ML/NN

• Analytical Hierarchy Processing

• Spatial Decision Support Syste

World Economic Forum (WEF) outlook 2026

Uncertainty is the defining theme of the global risks outlook in 2026. GRPS respondents viewed both the short- and long-term global outlook negatively, with 50% of respondents anticipating either a turbulent or stormy outlook over the next two years, deteriorating to 57% of respondents over the next 10 year

Decision Making Process (DMP) evolution

DSS Models

Data visualisations

Choosing the right visualisation depends on the data, what works, what makes sense, how the reader interprets it, and how quickly they understand it, i.e. it brings them to a position of knowledge.

Data-driven BDSS

Model-driven BDSS, e.g. Forestry planning

Knowledge-driven BDSS

Communications-driven BDSS

Document-driven BDSS

Microsoft Common Data Model (CDM)

A power BI Dashboard

Tableau