1. Decision Support and Artificial Intelligence
Chapter 4
Decision Support and Artificial Intelligence
Brainpower for Your Business
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2. Presentation Overview
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
Decision Support Systems
Collaboration Systems
Geographic Information Systems
Artificial Intelligence
Expert Systems
Neural Networks
Genetic Algorithms
Intelligent Agents
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3. Management Information Systems for the Information Age
Opening Case Study Continental Airlines Files High with Decision Support
Continental implemented a decision support system to provide up-to-the-minute flight information.
What other types of decision support systems could Continental Airlines implement?
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4. Management Information Systems for the Information Age
Introduction
Types of computer-aided decision support.
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5. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions How You Make a Decision
Four phases of decision making
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6. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions How You Make A Decision
Intelligence – find or recognize a problem, need, or opportunity.
Design – consider ways to solve the problem, fill the need, or take advantage of an opportunity.
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7. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions How You Make A Decision
Choice – examine and weigh the merits of each solution, estimate the consequences of each, and choose the best one.
Implementation – carry out the chosen solution, monitor the results, and make adjustments as necessary.
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8. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions Types of Decisions You Face
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9. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions Types of Decisions You Face
Structured decision - processes a certain kind of information in a specified way so that you will always get the right answer.
Nonstructured decision - one for which there may be several “right” answers, and there is no precise way to get a right answer.
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10. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions Types of Decisions You Face
Recurring decision - one that happens repeatedly, and often periodically.
Nonrecurring decision - one that you make infrequently.
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11. Decision Support Systems
Decision support system (DSS) - highly flexible and interactive IT system that is designed to support decision making when the problem is not structured.
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12. Decision Support Systems Components of a Decision Support System
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13. Decision Support Systems Components of a Decision Support System
A typical DSS has three components:
Model management
Data management
User interface management
Model management - consists of both the DSS models and the DSS model management system.
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14. Decision Support Systems Components of a Decision Support System
Data management - performs the function of storing and maintaining the information that you want your DSS to use.
User interface management - allows you to communicate with the DSS.
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15. Management Information Systems for the Information Age
Collaboration System
Collaboration system – software that is designed specifically to improve the performance of teams by supporting the sharing and flow of information.
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16. Collaboration System Enterprise-wide Collaboration
Lotus Notes and Microsoft Exchange are types of integrated collaboration systems.
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17. Collaboration System Supply-Chain Collaboration
Supply chain management means working with your suppliers and distributors in all phases of planning, production, and distribution.
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18. Collaboration System Web-Based Collaboration
Web-based collaboration tools use the power of the Internet to enable people to work together effectively and efficiently.
The peer-to-peer file-sharing feature is combined with the ability to create and edit documents collaboratively, and to send and receive text and voice messages.
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19. Geographic Information Systems
Geographic information system (GIS) - a decision support system designed to work with spatial information.
Spatial information is any information that can be shown in map form, such as roads, the distribution of bald eagle populations, and the layout of electrical lines.
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20. Geographic Information Systems
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21. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) - the science of making machines imitate human thinking and behavior.
Robot - mechanical device equipped with simulated human senses and the capability of taking action on its own.
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22. Artificial Intelligence
The AI systems that businesses use most can be classified into four categories:
Expert systems
Neural networks
Genetic algorithms
Intelligent agents
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23. Management Information Systems for the Information Age
Expert Systems
Expert system, or knowledge-based system - artificial intelligence system that applies reasoning capabilities to reach a conclusion.
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24. Expert Systems Components of an Expert System
Expert systems are good for diagnostic (what’s wrong?) and prescriptive (what to do?) problems.
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25. Expert Systems Components of an Expert System
An expert system combines information, people, and IT components.
Information types include:
Domain expertise – the reasoning process that will solve the problem.
“Why” information.
Problem facts.
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26. Expert Systems Components of an Expert System
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27. Expert Systems Components of an Expert System
People
Domain expert - provides the domain expertise in the form of problem-solving strategies.
Knowledge engineer – IT specialist who formulates the domain expertise into an expert system.
Knowledge worker or user - that’s you.
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28. Expert Systems Components of an Expert System
IT Components
Knowledge base - stores the rules of the expert system.
Knowledge acquisition – used to enter the rules.
Inference engine - takes the problem facts and searches the knowledge base for rules that fit.
User interface – used to run the consultation.
Explanation module – where information is stored.
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29. Expert Systems What Expert Systems Can and Can’t Do
An expert system can:
Reduce errors
Improve customer service
Reduce costs
An expert system can’t:
Use common sense
Automate all processes
On Your Own
Traffic Lights
Revisited
(p. 199)
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30. Management Information Systems for the Information Age
Neural Networks
Neural network (often called an artificial neural network or ANN) - an artificial intelligence system that is capable of finding and differentiating patterns.
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31. Neural Networks Types of Neural Networks
Self-organizing neural network - finds patterns and relationships in vast amounts of data by itself.
Back-propagation neural network - a neural network trained by someone.
Team Work
How Would You
Classify People?
(p. 202)
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32. Neural Networks Inside a Neural Network
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33. Management Information Systems for the Information Age
Genetic Algorithms
Genetic algorithm - an artificial intelligence system that mimics the evolutionary, survival-of-the-fittest process to generate increasingly better solutions to a problem.
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34. Management Information Systems for the Information Age
Genetic Algorithms
Genetic algorithms use three concepts of evolution:
Selection — survival of the fittest.
Crossover — combining portions of good outcomes in the hope of creating an even better outcome.
Mutation — randomly trying combinations and evaluating the success (or failure) of the outcome.
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35. Management Information Systems for the Information Age
Genetic Algorithms
Team Work
Be a Genetic
Algorithm and Put
Nails in Boxes
(p. 206)
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36. Management Information Systems for the Information Age
Intelligent Agents
Intelligent agent - software that assists you, or acts on your behalf, in performing repetitive computer-related tasks.
Four types of intelligent agents include:
Buyer agents or shopping bots
User or personal agents
Monitoring-and-surveillance or predictive agents
Data-mining agents
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37. Intelligent Agents Buyer Agents
Buyer agent or shopping bot - an intelligent agent on a Web site that helps the customer find products and services.
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38. Intelligent Agents Buyer Agents
Types of filtering include:
Collaborative filtering - a method of placing you in an affinity group of people with the same characteristics.
Profile filtering - requires that you choose terms or enter keywords.
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39. Intelligent Agents Buyer Agents
Types of filtering continued:
Psychographic filtering - anticipates your preferences based on the answers you give to a questionnaire.
Adaptive filtering - asks you to rate products or situations and also monitors your actions over time to find out what you like and dislike.
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40. Intelligent Agents User Agents
User agents (sometimes called personal agents) - intelligent agents that take action on your behalf.
On Your Own
Go Bargain
Hunting Online
(p. 209)
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41. Intelligent Agents Monitoring-and-Surveillance Agents
Monitoring-and-surveillance agents (also called predictive agents) - observe and report on equipment.
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42. Intelligent Agents Data-Mining Agents
Data-mining agent - operates in a data warehouse discovering information.
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43. Intelligent Agents Components of an Intelligent Agent
Autonomy - act without your telling them every step to take.
Adaptivity - discovering, learning, and taking action independently.
Sociability - conferring with other agents.
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44. Closing Case Study One Using Neural Networks To Categorize People
Using neural network software, businesses now have the ability to look for patterns in their customer information.
How accurate is it for a business to predict the future behavior of customers on the basis of past behavior?
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45. Management Information Systems for the Information Age
Closing Case Study Two Decision Support and Artificial Intelligence in Health Care
Good health care is based largely on good information.
How can DSS and AI be used to track symptoms, treatment, and outcomes that require the collection and maintenance of a huge amount of qualitative and quantitative information?
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46. Summary Student Learning Outcomes
Define decision support system, list its components, and identify the type of applications it’s suited to.
Define collaboration systems along with their features and uses.
Define geographic information systems and state how they differ from other decision support tools.
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47. Summary Student Learning Outcomes
Define artificial intelligence and list the different types that are used in business.
Define expert systems and describe the types of problems to which they are applicable.
Define neural networks, their uses, and a major strength and weakness of these AI systems.
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48. Summary Student Learning Outcomes
Define genetic algorithms and list the concepts on which they are based, and the types of problems they solve.
Define intelligent agents, list the four types, and identify the types of problems they solve.
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49. Summary Assignments & Exercises
Make a GIS
Collaboration work
Choose a financing option
Which software would you use?
What should the music store owner do?
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50. Visit the Web to Learn More www.mhhe.com/haag
Learning about investing
Researching the company behind the stock
Finding other sources of company financials
Making trades online
Retrieving stock quotes
Computer-aided decision support
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