Presented by Alex Mitchell Joy Mkhasibe DSS, GDSS, EIS and Data Mining Presented by Alex Mitchell Joy Mkhasibe

AGENDA Definitions Focus on GDSS GDSS Case Study EIS/DSS Demonstration Conclusion Questions

Decision Support Systems (DSS) Interactive computer-based systems which help decision-makers utilise data and models to solve unstructured problems (Scott-Morton). Uses the power of computers to solve all types of problems.

Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) Type of DSS used by groups of people. An interactive computer-based system that facilitates the solution of unstructured problems by a set of decision-makers working together as a group (Turban).

Executive Information Systems (EIS/ESS) Flexible tools that provide top managers and executives with direct access to useful and relevant information. Uses external and internal information. Normally graphical representation of information.

Data Mining Process of discovering new correlations, patterns and trends in an organisation's data Uses statistical and mathematical techniques to uncover hidden trends

Traditional meetings Only ONE person talks! Hear, understand and remember everything? Time is wasted Members are absent Result: Limit number of people dissatisfaction of the final decision

Traditional meetings Research on this subject still continues… Through research conducted at the University of Arizona a product called Ventana Group systems was developed Ventana Group systems is a GDSS application

. access to leading-edge technology founded in 1989 Partners with industry leaders access to leading-edge technology

Teams can interact Whenever - Wherever they need to work together

resources to allow interaction Folders Agenda Survey resources to allow interaction people, whiteboard, handouts and opinion maker reports Resources to improve productivity brief case, personal log and find

GroupSystems tools Categoriser Electronic Brainstorming Group Outliner Topic Commenter Vote Alternative Analysis Activity Modeller

Each participant can be entering ideas or commenting on existing ideas at the same time as other participants. (You can also import a list of ideas from a text file or another GroupSystems tool such as Electronic Brainstorming.)

Categoriser

DDN Rapid growth Service oriented led to becoming the largest information technology company is S.A. Business processes supported by out of date applications and existed in isolation No regard for overall impact on company or customers Service oriented redesign their business processes from a systems theory point of view, i.e. recognise that each department’s work influences the entire company Business processes - implemented in ad hoc fashion to cope with growth

DDN Interviews, observations, and analysis of existing documentation Deadlines!!!!!

Application of the Activity Modeller Team leaders identified the main existing business processes e.g. plan technical implementation Activities of Business process best qualified people describe how each process operated 26 Activity modeller workshops to expand on and connect activities to streamline the ”As-Is” models into “To-be” models identify redundant activities and activities to automate

Results: Fast and Efficient Many people worked on a process in parallel Information was available immediately and in electronic format Developed new processes facilitated early process buy-in Time for each workshop was shorter therefore focus and momentum were maintained

EIS/DSS Demo Large number of EIS/DSS/OLAP tools Includes products from companies such as SAP Oracle IBM Pilot Software And Cognos products Powerplay Scenario

Cognos Powerplay SE 5.21 Used by 1000s of organisations world-wide PowerPlay summarises and presents corporate data the way users understand their business. Rated by Infoworld as World’s Number 1 OLAP tool.

Powerplay’s Characteristics Drill down to the lowest level of detail Slice and dice Highlight exceptions Converts currencies automatically Rank and compare results Analyse trends over time Visualise data graphically

Http://www.cognos.com/

London Underground 2. 5 million customers per day 2, 500 ticketing devices Implemented Cognos powerplay to cope with large volumes of data. Powerplay provides staff with the ability to analyses patterns, spot trends and anticipate problems. Resulted in better decisions and improved ticket selling services to its customers.

Conclusion Illustrated some of the theory in the paper Given practical cases of where decision making applications have been used Understanding of these applications and their benefits Changes in business and developments in technology have led to the development of applications that will sustain competitive advantage

Conclusion By making data available in strategic format Representative of the real world to identify problems and help generate quicker, efficient decisions that give optimal solutions “… Knowledge is power only when it is shared and used to take action” -Tyran et al

Questions ?