Decision support systems have experienced a marked increase in attention and importance over the past 25 years. The aim of this book is to survey the decision support system (DSS) field – covering both developed territory and emergent frontiers. It will give the reader a clear understanding of fundamental DSS concepts, methods, technologies, trends, and issues. It will serve as a basic reference work for DSS research, practice, and instruction. To achieve these goals, the book has been designed according to a ten-part structure, divided in two volumes with chapters authored by well-known, well-versed scholars and practitioners from the DSS community.

A decision support system (DSS) is an intelligent information system that uses data, models it, processes or analyzes it using problem-specific methodologies, and assists the user in the decision-making process through a graphical user interface (GUI). Developing Spreadsheet-Based Decision Support Systems is a comprehensive book that describes how to build decision support systems using the Excel spreadsheet framework and the VBA programming language. This book illustrates complete decision support development applications through several case studies arising in operations research, industrial engineering, management, and business administration.

CD-ROM contains: Crystal Ball -- TreePlan -- AnimaLP -- Queue -- ExcelWorkbooks.

For MIS specialists and non-specialists alike, this text is a comprehensive, readable, understandable guide to the concepts and applications of decision support systems.

Quantitative Methods for Decision Making is a comprehensive guide that provides students with the key techniques and methodology they will need to successfully engage with all aspects of quantitative analysis and decision making; both on their undergraduate course, and in the larger context of their future business environments. Organized in accordance with the enterprise functional structure where the decision making takes place, the textbook encompasses a broad range of functions, each detailed with clear examples illustrated through the single application tool Microsoft Excel. The authors approach a range of methods which are divided into major enterprise functions such as marketing, sales, business development, manufacturing, quality control and finance; illustrating how the methods can be applied in practice and translated into a working environment. Each chapter is packed with short case studies to exemplify the practical use of techniques, and contains a wealth of exercises after key sections and concepts, giving students the opportunity to monitor their own progress using the solutions at the back of the book. An Online Resource Centre accompanies the text and includes: For students: - Numerical skills workbook with additional exercises, questions and content - Data from the examples and exercises in the book - Online glossary of terms - Revision tips - Visual walkthrough videos covering the application of a range of quantitative methods - Appendices to the book For lecturers: - Instructor's manual including solutions from the text and a guide to structuring lectures and seminars - PowerPoint presentations - Test bank with questions for each chapter - Suggested assignment and examination questions

In recent years, much work has been done in formulating and clarifying the concept of sustainable development and related theoretical and research issues. Now, the challenge has shifted to designing and stimulating processes of effective planning and decision-making, at all levels of human activity, in such a way as to achieve local and global sustainable development. Information technology can help a great deal in achieving sustainable development by providing well-designed and useful tools for decision makers. One such tool is the decision support system, or DSS. This book explores the area of DSS in the context of sustainable development. As DSS is a very new technique, especially in the developing world, this book will serve as a reference text, primarily for managers, government officials, and information professionals in developing countries. It covers the concept of sustainable development, defines DSS and how it can be used in the planning and management of sustainable development, and examines the state of the art in DSS use. Other interested readers will include students, teachers, and analysts in information sciences; DSS designers, developers, and implementors; and international development agencies.

This report provides an overview of today s water problems around the world, develops a picture of the international water sector structure and explores the challenges to the public and private sectors. It then describes in detail the impact of private sector participation in all the continents of the world, provides the development of the KB-DSS step-by-step and applies the model to the special cases of a Western European country (Portugal) and an African archipelago (Cape Verde)."