Technology Update: Group Decision Support Systems
Successful strategic planning sessions, usually held away from the office premises, are the result of team effort (see the preceding article on page 32). The cutting-edge technology described below can solve a number of problems found in many types of group deliberations (see the sidebar on page 49). Grop work is a fact of life for professional service firms. It is becoming increasingly critical for the survival and success of both the firms and their clients. In increasingly complex environments, many specialists and generalists are needed to cope with decision complexity. Now information technology, which can aid the group deliberation and decision-making processes, is starting to appear. Opportunities abound for creating electronic meeting rooms where computing and communications are merged. Terms such as group decision support systems (GDSS), electronic meeting systems and computer-supported cooperative work describe the technology that is available to support group activities. The technology is usually a networ that connects a number of PCs with a file server (high-capacity disk storage shared via a local area network) and has the capability of displaying input on large-screen monitors in a room designated for the purpose. The information displayed either can come from an individual using a PC or can represent the aggregation of responses made during a group session. These sessions may focus on any or a number of the following group tasks or processes: * Brainstorming. * Nominal group (group suggestions are discussed and commented on without judgmental assertions). * Delphi (surveys of groups in which feedback based on individual suggestions or conclusions is given to the respondents and consensus is sought). * Assumption surfacing (underlying assumptions are identified). * Policy formulation. * Issue analysis. * Alternative evaluation. * Stakeholder identification. * Strategic planning. Group decision rooms are located at universities, including the universities of Arizona and Minnesota, and are beginning to be found in industry settings. IBM installed six group decision rooms in 1988 and 1989. The Internal Revenue Service office in Manhattan agreed to participate in experiments using these rooms in 1989 and 1990. The systems' configurations vary from 8 to 32 PCs. The rooms are usually U-shaped to facilitate person-to-person communication when the PCs are not being used. The PCs are generally moderately powered with high-resolution graphics. The large screens in the front of the room also have high resolution. In essence, these rooms have been designed to provide a "what you see is what I see" (WYSIWIS) environment. The networking is fairly standard, with the file server and the external facilitator's PC having more power and storage than the PCs used by the participants. In other words, this technology platform can be replicated at a fairly reasonable price. ACTIVITIES AND BENEFITS Many activities can take place in and will benefit from use of such a room. For example, a group meeting to plan a complex project could use most of the available tools effectively. Electronic brainstorming permits each person to submit an idea, pass it to the system, receive someone else's idea, add to it and pass it on, with comments accumulating at each step in the process. The ideas and comments are passed anonymously via the computer program. After the brainstorming has been completed, the GDSS computerized issue analyzer function permits consolidation of the ideas into focus items (critical success factors). Voting may occur next as individuals anonymously rank their preferences. If it is necessary, a number of votes can be taken to establish consensus. Finally, the computer files can be printed for further analysis. The technology is oriented toward providing an open forum for raising issues and identifying underlying assumptions while allowing participants to rank their preferences. …