The roles of computerized support systems: A decision subprocess-based analysis

This paper analyses the potential roles of computerized systems in supporting the decision-making process. Toward this end, we propose an expository process model of decision-making and develop a framework that provides the infrastructure for the analysis. The proposed process model draws on two well-known models in the literature and enumerates eight distinct phases in decision-making. The framework developed is based on an integration of this process model with Simon's notion of ‘decision-structuredness’. Unlike any of the existing frameworks, the suggested framework permits a micro-level analysis of support system roles. The analysis is intended as a pre-design guide, to help systems developers and users to identify support potential and possibilities, and to target their activities accordingly.