Group decision support systems

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.

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;
• 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 spilter.nl, facilitate.com, MeetingSphere (formerly smartSpeed), ThinkTank and ynSyte's WIQ.

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

External links

• Thoughts on a Group Support System

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

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

by D. J. Power - Editor, DSSResources.COM

• Current trends in Computer Mediated Collaboration

Report by Philip S Tellis, Staff Scientist, ETU Division, NCST, Juhu

• Hurricane Katrina: Redefining the Essence of Homeland Security (2005).
• thinkLets (Wikimedia mirror of related article that was purged.)
• Harvard Business Review (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 HICSS-39 Thinklets (Collaboration techniques and processes)
  • 2001 HICSS-34 Mini-Track Topics (Collaboration systems and technology)
• 1996-GSS HICSS-29 Mini-Track Topics (Group Support Systems)
  • 1996-GUE (Groupware User Experiences)