Computer Science and Information Technology 1(2): 105-110, 2013 http://www.hrpub.

org
DOI: 10.13189/csit.2013.010205

Developing an Expertise Interaction Meta- Model for

Group Decision Support System (GDSS)
Christina Albert Rayed

Computer and Information System dept., Sadat Academy for Management Science, Cairo, Egypt
*Corresponding Author:Christinalbert2004@yahoo.com

Copyright © 2013 Horizon Research Publishing All rights reserved.

Abstract Group Decision Support System (GDSS) types of computer-based information systems (IS) have been
provides a group electronic environment in which managers developed to support decision making, including decision
and teams can collectively make decisions and design support systems (DSS), group support systems (GSS) and
solutions for unstructured and semi-structured problems. In executive information systems (EIS). In an increasingly
this paper, we propose to model for group decision support global business environment, managers of enterprises in
system based on expertise interaction meta-model. In this developing countries need to utilize information technology
paper we develop a specialized systems such as Management to achieve long-run economic growth [2]. Many researches
Information System (MIS), Decision Support Systems (DSS), have focused attention on the capabilities of DSS system
and Executive Information Systems (EIS) to be talked about GDSS [3].
work with these systems and technologies for data mining Integrated in DSS in general and GDSS in particular, they
and Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) and the role of offer the potential to automate a far wider part of the overall
knowledge-based DSS should be to allow experts to broaden problem-solving task than was possible with classical DSS
and expand their expertise, not to narrow it down to focus on or Expert System DSS [4].
the specific decision needs of managers and employees. A GDSS is composed of a set of highly configurable
Expert System (ES) with knowledge base captured from “tools” (e.g. brainstorming, voting and ranking,
numerous experts in the same subject area as well as from a multi-criteria analysis etc.) that requires a high level of
variety of specialists in international financial management, expertise for an effective use for complex decisions [5].
international accounting, international tax areas, and so forth. In integrating DSS and ES, two basic approaches are
discernible and labeled expert support systems (ESS) and
Keywords Group Decision Support System (GDSS), intelligent support systems (ISS). The key differences
Decision Support Systems (DSS), Interaction Meta-model, between these two systems are as follows. ESS is to replace
Expert System (ES), Artificial Intelligent (AI) human expertise with machine expertise, while ISS are to
amplify the memory and intelligence of humans and groups
[6]. Few would disagree with the notion that there are
considerable benefits from integrating DSS and ES. The new
1. Introduction integrated system (ESS or ISS) can support decision makers
by harnessing the expertise of key organizational members.
Decision Support System (DSS) is an interactive A bottleneck in the development of knowledge-based
computer-based system or subsystem intended to help systems such as ESS is knowledge acquisition, which is a
decision makers use communication technology, data, part of knowledge engineering – the process includes
documents, knowledge and/or models to identify and solve representation, validation, inference, explanation and
problems, complete decision process tasks, and make maintenance. In this paper, we developed the Interaction
decisions. Decision support system is the area of the Meta-Model contextual factors to be an Expertise Interaction
information systems (IS) discipline that is focused on Meta-Model by integrating expert systems, expertise groups
supporting and improving managerial decision-making. and expertise tasks.
Essentially, DSS is about developing and deploying IT based
systems to support decision processes. A decision support
system can be defined as a computer system that assists 2. Group Decision Support System
decision-makers in choosing between alternative beliefs or
actions by applying knowledge about the decision domain to The idea of Group Decision Support System (GDSS) is to
arrive at recommendations for the various options [1]. Many support the decision makers at all the hierarchic levels in an
106 Developing an Expertise Interaction Meta- Model for Group Decision Support System (GDSS)

organization to take the decisions efficiently and just in time. a) The hardware element, which is the conference facility
The main advantage of using a GDSS proved to be, over the which includes the decision room, computers, internet access,
years, a better understanding of the decision process through and other means of communications
the involvement of all the decision makers in all the phases b) Software tools, which are web-based applications,
of the decisional issue from statement to solving and e-questionnaires, e-brainstorming, idea organizers, group
interpretation. Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) can dictionaries, questionnaire tools, policy formation tools and
be presented as a set of software, hardware, language c) People, who include the decision-makers themselves
components and procedures that support a group of people and, in many cases, a trained facilitator and, possibly, the
engaged in a decision related meeting [7]. support staff [9].
The GDSS is an interactive, communication and computer
based system, utilized to facilitate the solution of
unstructured problems by a set of co-operating 3. Benefits of GDSS
decision-makers. It consists of most of the DSS elements,
plus specific software to support group decisions. GDSS is a Because of the complexity and importance of performance
particular subclass of the more general class of computerized evaluation, decision support systems are frequently used as a
collaborative work systems. Special design, flexibility, ease tool in support of decision-making. Particularly, once a
of use, decision-making support, anonymous input, decision on investment has been made, it may generate a
reduction of negative group behavior, parallel huge profit or lead to terrible loss. Therefore, decision
communications are typical characteristic features of makers must be careful to insight a detailed before taking
GDSS[5]. decisions. Decision support systems are computer-based
Group decision support system (GDSS), a subclass of tools that help managerial decision-making by presenting
DSS, is defined as information technology-based support various effective alternatives. By the 1990s,
systems that provide decision making support to groups [8]. knowledge-based intelligent systems have been playing an
They refer to the systems that provide computer-based aids important role in new decision support tools.
and communication support for decision-making meetings in Also, GDSS supports more than one person which works
organizations. The group meeting is a joint activity in which on a shared task. Several people work together to come up
a group of people is interacted with equal or near-equal status. with a set of decisions to implement a solution or strategy.
The activity and its outputs are intellectual in nature. Most communication-driven DSS aim to support the work of
Essentially, output of the meeting depends on the knowledge internal teams, which may include external partners as well.
and judgment contributed by the participants. Differences in The most intensively utilized technologies for deploying the
opinion may be settled by negotiation or arbitration. GDSS are web-based technologies and client-server
Group Decision Support System is also referred to as a technologies. Also, groupware, bulletin boards, audio and
Group Support System (GSS), Collaborative Systems or an video conferencing are utilized for communication-driven
Electronic Meeting System since they shared similar decision support.
foundations. However GDSS is characterized by being The design issues of group decision support systems are
adapted for a group of people who collaborate to support changing because of the Web. Researchers focused for many
integrated systems thinking for complex decision making. years on what tools to provide and how to collect and
Participants use a common computer or network to enable aggregate input. Group Decision Support Systems give
collaboration. A decision support system is an application groups several advantages over many traditional,
that analyzes business data and presents it in a fashion that non-automated group meetings:
allows users to make business decisions more easily. A More participation - Because a GDSS allows anonymity,
decision support system creates an environment where ideas group members may be encouraged to participate because
and collaboration flourish in an efficient time-saving manner. they do not feel as vulnerable to group censure for asking
With a decision support system can alleviate the constraints what may be perceived as "foolish" questions or making
of group dynamics by facilitating more open group unpopular comments. Similarly, the participants will not be
discussion with parallel anonymous input. Decisions are as subject to group think or conformance pressure (the
made with a higher degree of consensus and agreement reluctance to criticize the comments of others due to
resulting in a dramatically higher likelihood of politeness or fear of reprisals). In addition, each group
implementation. With a decision support system you can member will have more "air time" or time to contribute ideas.
bring people together like never before. GDSS contains most In non automated meetings, people must listen to others
of the elements of decision support system plus software to speak and pausing to reflect can cost a turn at comment or
provide effective support in group decision-making settings. response; a GDSS allows everyone to "speak" in parallel. In
Group support systems have been implemented in a a typical meeting, group members have only few minutes to
number of forms. Group support systems were more express their ideas rather than the entire meeting time. In
commonly found in larger organizations, especially financial some non-automated meetings, a few group members may
institutions, computer service organizations, and the exert undue influence or monopolize the group's time; a
government. A general architecture of a GDSS includes: GDSS makes every participant equal, eliminating member
 Computer Science and Information Technology 1(2): 105-110, 2013 107

status incongruities. Finally, more information will be None of these models is rich enough to support decision
presented to the group as more participate. identification in requirements models, and there is no
Group synergy - Other group members will be able to use genuine support for decision reuse and collaboration.
an idea in a manner that the originator did not because The above observations raise another question, of how can
participants have different information skills. Also, the inexperienced facilitators start using GDSS, at least with a
group as a whole will be better able to catch errors in a reasonable probability of success. Several authors [10, 11]
comment than the individual who proposed the idea. suggested an expert system approach capable to develop
Reading a comment often gives creative stimulus to others facilitation skills. These expert systems would include the
in the group. Also, groups may be more likely to consider an recognition and interpretation of patterns of activity, possible
idea as the group's idea rather than an individual's because facilitator’s interventions and also some indication of
ideas have been merged together. probabilities of success.
Automated record keeping - A GDSS can record all Differences in groups using Group Decision Support
comments generated during the meeting, and consequently, Systems (GDSS) and Distributed GDSS, can be explained
the group participants may not need to take notes. In a through differences in contextual factors (Technology,
non-automated setting, group members have to remember Groups and Task), and differences in the interaction of these
comments (rather than thinking of new ones) until they have factors. To represent this complex interplay, a novel
a chance to speak. Participants may also forget what has been contingency model is developed, building on the theoretical
said before. In vocal meetings, some participants may not frameworks proposed by G. DeSanctis and S.R Hiltz
understand what was said or they may not be able to process [12,13]. The contextual factors (technology, groups and
the information quickly enough. This automated log of the tasks) are represented in the main circles of the meta-model,
discussion supports the development of an organizational and the interaction factors in the overlapping zones of those
memory from meeting to meeting. circles (See Figure 1).The point of the best interaction is in
More structure - A GDSS also provides a certain amount the interaction factor between groups, tasks and technology
of structure to the meeting. With this structure in place, it is (GIT Interaction Factor).
more difficult to deviate from the problem-solving cycle and The GTT Interaction Factor is essentially dynamic
make incomplete or premature decisions. The group has a because it emerges from the interaction of many variables. It
more concentrated discussion, and they stay focused on the includes the emergent structuring of the group interaction,
issues throughout the meeting. Lower levels of non-task given the conditions created from the context in which group
interactions (gossiping, for example) in such groups have processes take place and the adaptation of the group to the
been observed as compared with traditional meetings. technology and the task [14].
Other benefits - As a result of more participation, group
synergy, record keeping, and structure, many groups have
been able to accomplish more in significantly less time
necessary for traditional, non-automated meetings.
Also, these factors have contributed to higher group
satisfaction with the meeting process. Finally, the new
technology has enabled larger groups to meet, resulting in
more information, knowledge, and skills that are brought to
bear to the task at hand.

4. GDSS Interactive Meta-Model

GDSS is based on the standard models or on the models
defined by the users. Most GDSS models address process
loss by establishing recommended size ranges for group
membership and norms for using and administering the
systems, rather than building the process loss recognition Figure 1. Interaction Meta-Model
and management directly into the systems. Also this
undesirable outcome cannot be ignored when it comes to
extending theoretical models of GDSS design and 5. Intelligent Decision Support System
implementation to real-world organizations.
While the previous studies suggest that incorporating The machine should help humans to make decision, to
formal models of group process theories in GDSS design is search for information, to control complex objects, and
feasible, it is clear that these models introduce layers of finally to understand the meaning of words. In order to
complexity that may challenge the performance of such develop intelligent computer system, we have to capture,
systems. organize and use human expert knowledge in some narrow
108 Developing an Expertise Interaction Meta- Model for Group Decision Support System (GDSS)

areas of expertise; upgrade the computational power of the 6. Developing an Expertise Interaction
system’s brain with the sophistication of algorithms using
sensory processing, world modeling, behavior generation,
Meta- Model
value judgment and global communication; the amount of Successful GDSS meetings require expertise and
information and values the system has stored in its memory; experience in planning meetings and building agendas.
and the sophistication of the process of the system
However, our experiments with current GDSS and overview
functioning [15]. Besides that, intelligent system is defined
as the ability of a system to act appropriately in an uncertain of research work in the GDSS field show limited support to
environment to increase the probability of success, and the planning and agenda building, especially when carried out
success is the achievement of behavioral sub goals that by inexperienced facilitators.
support the system’s ultimate goal [16]. Several authors [10, 11] suggested an expert system
Expert systems are often capable of supporting decision approach capable to develop facilitation skills. These expert
making in that domain at a level comparable to human systems would include the recognition and interpretation of
experts. While they are flexible and often able to address patterns of activity, possible facilitator’s interventions and
complex decision problems, they are based on intuitive also some indication of probabilities of success.
human reasoning and lack soundness and formal guarantees Expert System Planner it is a prototype expert system
with respect to the theoretical reliability of their results. The
designed to support GDSS facilitators during pre-meeting
danger of the expert system approach, increasingly
appreciated by DSS builders, is that along with imitating planning. The authors refer that various models of task
human thinking and its efficient heuristic principles, we may characteristics, nature of the problem and other
also imitate its undesirable flaws. characteristics such as need for consensus are included in the
Active DSS applications such as Expert System, system. Based on these models, the system makes tool
Knowledge-based System, Adaptive DSS and Intelligent recommendations to the facilitator [11]. A variety of
Decision Support System (IDSS) are categorized as part of stakeholders involved in organizational decision processes
Intelligent System studies. Intelligent systems are developed bring together their often unique viewpoints and expertise.
to fulfill the two main functions. Firstly, to screening, The progress from MIS to DSS and EIS provided models
shifting and filtering the increasing overflow of data,
and analytical tools for professionals and usable information
information and knowledge. Secondly, as a supporter of an
for executives. An expert system (ES) addresses a different
effective and productive decision making that is suitable to
the user needs. Intelligent systems can be developed for these type of problem: It supports the intellectual work of
purposes; range from self-organizing maps to smart add-on professionals engaged in design, diagnosis, or evaluation of
modules to make the use of applications more effective and complex situations that require expert knowledge in a
useful for the users [17]. well-defined area. The knowledge is captured not only as
The efficacy of Artificial Intelligent (AI) in DSS depends facts but also in the form of reasoning processes that the
on AI techniques embedded in DSS. Expert System, Fuzzy expert would go though in solving a problem. Some expert
Logic, Neural Network, and Genetic Algorithm are among systems use these reasoning processes to guide a problem
AI techniques that have been popularized in DSS [18]. solving dialogue with the user.
Expert System utilized human expert knowledge in its
By developing the Interaction Meta-Model contextual
knowledge-base, capable to mimic the decision capability of
factors (Expert systems, Expertise groups and Expertise
human expert to assist them on their routine tasks or replace
them during their unavailability [19]. tasks) are represented in the main circles of the expertise
Recently, there are quite a number of computer meta-model, and the interaction factors in the overlapping
applications that have applied intelligent techniques and used zones of those circles as shown in Figure 2. The expert
DSS concepts and components. However, some researchers systems is including Management Information System
claim it as an essential of DSS which uses the conventional (MIS), Decision Support System (DSS), Expert Support
name known as IDSS and others classified it as a member of System, Data Mining and Online Analytical Processing
intelligent system. In this case, the application’s name is (OLAP). The point of the best interaction is in the interaction
given based on the intelligent techniques that they use, such factor between expertise groups, expertise tasks and expert
as expert system which uses rules based system, knowledge
systems is expertise groups, tasks, Systems (EGTS
based system (KBS), fuzzy sets, Neural Network for
Interaction Factor).
reasoning and learning capabilities. In this study, we focus
our discussion on IDSS applications, which are embedded The EGTS Interaction Factor is essentially dynamic
with the related intelligent techniques [20]. because it emerges from the interaction of many expertise
Intelligent Decision Support System is an integration of variables. It includes the emergent structuring of the
DSS and artificial intelligence (AI) technology combining expertise group interaction, given the conditions created
the basic function of DSS and reasoning capabilities of AI from the context in which group processes take place and the
techniques [21]. adaptation of the group to the technology and the task.
 Computer Science and Information Technology 1(2): 105-110, 2013 109

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