Reflections on the Past and Future of Decision Support Systems: Perspective of Eleven Pioneers

Abstract

Sometimes we must look backwards before moving forward. This chapter provides an overview of the field of decision support systems (DSS), including a brief history and a progress report of a related ongoing research project. The project explores the perceptions and opinions of distinguished DSS researchers who made significant contributions to the DSS field. These individuals are pioneers in the field of computerized decision support. The analysis of reflections of eleven DSS pioneers are reported, including: James F. Courtney, Paul Gray, Clyde W. Holsapple, George P. Huber, William H. Inmon, Frank F. Land, Andrew M. McCosh, Michael S. Scott Morton, Gerald R. Wagner, Hugh J. Watson and Andrew Whinston. The interviewees provided an interesting commentary on the journeys they pursued in advancing methods and tools for supporting decision making. There is a clear consensus among the interviewees that much remains to be done to improve decision making with DSS. Developers need to capitalize on advancements in information technologies and increase the sophistication of DSS to meet users’ needs and expectations.

Appendix: Brief Biographies of Interviewees

James F. Courtney Professor of Management Information Systems at Louisiana Tech University. He received his Ph.D. in Business Administration with a major in management science from the University of Texas at Austin in 1974. He is the co-developer of the Systems Laboratory for Information Management (1981), a software package to support research and education in decision support systems, co-author of Database Systems for Management (1992), and Decision Support Models and Expert Systems (1992).

Paul Gray Professor emeritus and Founding Chair of the Department of Information Science at Claremont Graduate University. He specializes in data warehousing, business intelligence, decision support systems, and knowledge management. He is the author/editor of 12 books, most recently Decision Support in the Data Warehouse with H.J. Watson. He is also the author of over 120 journal articles including three “first papers” in crime in transportation, in telecommuting, and in group decision support systems. He is the founding editor of the Communications of AIS. Paul received a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Stanford University.

Clyde W. Holsapple Rosenthal Endowed Chair in Management Information Systems at the University of Kentucky. His research focuses on supporting knowledge work, particularly in decision-making contexts. He has authored over 100 research articles. His many books include Foundations of Decision Support Systems (with Bonczek and Whinston, 1981), Decision Support Systems: A Knowledge-Based Approach, and the 2-volume Handbook on Knowledge Management. He received a Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1977. His dissertation was titled “Framework for a Generalized Intelligent Decision Support System”.

George P. Huber Charles and Elizabeth Prothro Regents Chair in Business Administration, The University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses on decision making and effects of information technologies on organizations. He has authored over 100 articles. Huber published a pioneering public sector decision support application article (1969) co-authored with Charles Holt. Also, Huber wrote pioneering articles on behavioral issues associated with using DSS and GDSS. He received a Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1965.

William H. Inmon Bill Inmon, is recognized as the “father of the data warehouse” and co-creator of the “Corporate Information Factory. His work on concepts related to data warehouses began with a 1983 Computerworld article, “What Price Relational?” As an author, Inmon has written about a variety of topics on the building, usage, and maintenance of the data warehouse and the Corporate Information Factory. He has written more than 650 articles, many of them have been published in major computer journals such as Datamation, ComputerWorld, and Byte Magazine. In 1991 Inmon published a practical how-to guide titled Building the Data Warehouse. Check http://www.inmongif.com

Frank Land He started his career in computing with J. Lyons, in 1953, working on the pioneering LEO Computer first as a programmer and then as a systems analyst on business decision support applications. In 1967, he left industry to join the London School of Economics on National Computing Centre grant to establish teaching and research in systems analysis becoming Professor of Systems Analysis in 1982. He is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and was awarded a Fellowship of the AIS in 2001 and the AIS LEO Award in 2003.

Andrew M. Mccosh Eminent Scholar Department of Finance, College of Business Administration, Florida International University. He previously served on the faculties at Harvard, Columbia, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Manchester, and the University of Michigan. He has published research in the areas of innovation and business processes, ethics, decision support technology, and financial strategy. He received a DBA from Harvard Business School.

Michael S. Scott Morton Professor of Management at Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Scott Morton is concerned about organizational and structural changes that US firms must make in order to compete successfully in the global marketplace. He studied engineering at the University of Glasgow in Scotland and finished his studies at Carnegie-Mellon before obtaining his doctorate at the School of Business at Harvard University. His dissertation completed in 1967 was the first systematic study of a computerized management decision system.

Gerald R. Wagner In 1978, Jerry resigned from his position as tenured Professor and Head of Operations Research, College of Engineering, University of Texas at Austin. He then started his first software company Execucom, which became a leading force in DSS. Execucom sponsored the first DSS conference and started the DSS transactions. Execucom was acquired by GTE in 1984. Dr. Wagner is known for his software including IFPS, VisionQuest, Planners Lab and Web IQ. In 2003, he founded the International Academy for Advanced Decision Support (IAADS).

Hugh J. Watson Professor of MIS and a holder of a C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry Chair of Business Administration in the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. He has authored 22 books and over 100 scholarly journal articles. He helped develop the conceptual foundation for decision support systems in the 1970s, researched the development and implementation of executive information systems in the 1980s, and most recently, specializes in BI and data warehousing. Hugh is a Fellow of the Association for Information Systems and The Data Warehousing Institute. He is the Senior Director of the Teradata University Network.

Andrew B. Whinston Hugh Roy Cullen Centennial Chair Professor in Information Systems at the Graduate School of Business in the University of Texas at Austin. He is also Professor in the departments of Economics and Computer Science. He is founding Editor-in-Chief of the Decision Support Systems journal. Whinston received his Ph.D. in Management from Carnegie Mellon University in 1962. He has authored seminal books in various disciplines. He has also published over 250 papers in leading academic journals in Economics, Business and Computer Science. Most of Dr. Whinston’s research has been based at the Center for Research in Electronic Commerce.