Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai Cluj-Napoca
Facultatea de Matematică şi Informatică
Ciclul de studii: Masterat
Domeniul: Informatica
Programul de studii: Sisteme Inteligente - în limba engleză
Limba de predare: Engleză

SYLLABUS

I. General data
Code	Subject	
MID1009	Decision Support Systems	

Semester	Hours: C+S+L+P	Category	Status	
3	2+1+0+1	speciality	optional	

II. Full status faculty members
Name and	Scientific	Didactic	Chair	Type of activity	
surname	title	title		C	S	L	
PREJMEREAN Vasile	Ph.D.	Lect.	Programming  Languages and Methods	*			

Associated faculty members
Name and	Scientific	Institution	Type of	Type of activity	
surname	title		position	C	S	L	

III. Course objectives
The students will be able to have a:
a) knowledge about general theory and specific DSS theory;
b) good understanding of hands-on applications
c) systematic knowledge about what the designer of a DSS needs to know; 

IV. Course contents
1. Introduction. 
1.1. What is a DSS? 
1.2. The Components of a DSS.
2. Decision Making.
2.1. Rational Decisions, Definitions of Rationality, Bounded Rationality and Muddling Through.
2.2. The Nature of Managers, Appropriate Data Support, Information Processing Models.
2.3. Group Decision Making
3. Decisions and Decision Modeling 
3.1. Types of Decisions 
3.2. Human Judgment and Decision Making 
3.3. Modeling Decisions 
3.4. Components of Decision Models 
4. Normative Systems
4.1. Normative and Descriptive Approaches 
4.2. Decision-Analytic Decision Support Systems 
4.3. Equation-Based and Mixed Systems 
5. Data Component 
5.1. Characteristics of Information 
5.2. Databases to Support Decision Making 
5.3. Database Management Systems 
5.4. Data Warehouses 
5.5. Data Mining and Intelligent Agents 
6. Model Component 
6.1. Models, Representation, Methodology 
6.2. Model Based Management Systems, Access to Models, Understandability of Results
6.3. Integrating Models, Sensitivity of a Decision
7. Intelligence and Decision Support Systems 
7.1. Programming Reasoning - Backward Chaining Reasoning and Forward Chaining Reasoning 
8. User Interfaces to Decision Support Systems
8.1. Support for Model Construction and Model Analysis 
8.2. Support for Reasoning about the Problem Structure in Addition to Numerical Calculations 
8.3. Support for Both Choice and Optimization of Decision Variables 
9. Graphical Interface
9.1. The Action Language, Menus
10. Mail Component 
10.1. Integration of Mail Management 
10.2. Implications for DSS Design 

V. Bibliography
1.Alter, S. L. Decision support systems: current practice and continuing challenges. Reading, Mass., Addison-Wesley Pub., 1980.
2.Delic, K.A., Douillet,L. and Dayal, U. $Towards an architecture for real-time decision support systems:challenges and solutions, 2001.
3.Druzdzel, M. J. and R. R. Flynn. Decision Support Systems. Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. A. Kent, Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1999 
4.Finlay, P. N., Introducing decision support systems. Oxford, UK Cambridge, Mass., NCC Blackwell; Blackwell Publishers, 1994.
5.French, S. and Geldermann, J. The varied contexts of environmental decision problems and their implications for decision support. Environmental Science and Policy 8 (2005), 378&#8211;391.
6.French, S., Carter, E., and Niculae, C. Decision support in nuclear and radiological emergency situations: Are we too focused on models and technology? International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management (2007).
7.Gachet, A. Building Model-Driven Decision Support Systems with Dicodess. Zurich, VDF, 2004. 
8.Gadomski, A.M. at al.An Approach to the Intelligent Decision Advisor (IDA) for Emergency Managers.Int. J. Risk Assessment and Management, Vol. 2, Nos. 3/4., 2001.
9.Larissa T. Moss, Shaku Atre, Business Intelligence Roadmap: The Complete Project Lifecycle for Decision-Support Applications By Publisher: Addison Wesley Professional Pub Date: February 25, 2003 Print ISBN-10: 0-201-78420-3 Print ISBN-13: 978-0-201-78420-6 Pages: 576 Slots: 2.0
10.Little, J.D.C. $Models and Managers:The Concept of a Decision Calculus.$ Management Science, Vol.16,NO.8, April, 1970. 	

VI. Thematic of didactic activities per weeks
Lectures - 12 weeks
1.	Introduction - What is a DSS? The Components of a DSS.
2.	Decision Making - Rational Decisions, Definitions of Rationality, Bounded Rationality and Muddling Through..
3.	The Nature of Managers, Appropriate Data Support, Information Processing Models. Group Decision Making.
4.	Decisions and Decision Modeling - Types of Decisions. Human Judgment and Decision Making. Modeling Decisions. Components of Decision Models
5.	Normative Systems - Normative and Descriptive Approaches. Decision-Analytic Decision Support Systems. Equation-Based and Mixed Systems.
6.	Data Component - Characteristics of Information. Databases to Support Decision Making. Database Management Systems.
7.	Data Warehouses. Data Mining and Intelligent Agents.
8.	Model Component - Models, Representation, Methodology.
9.	Model Based Management Systems, Access to Models, and Understandability of Results. Integrating Models, Sensitivity of a Decision.
10.	Intelligence and Decision Support Systems - Programming Reasoning - Backward Chaining Reasoning and Forward Chaining Reasoning. Knowledge Representation for Decision Support Systems,  Computational Intelligence for Decision Support, Expert Systems and Artificial Intelligence in Decision Support Systems.
11.	User Interfaces to Decision Support Systems. Support for Model Construction and Model Analysis. Support for Reasoning about the Problem Structure in Addition to Numerical Calculations. Support for Both Choice and Optimization of Decision Variables.
12.	Graphical Interface - The Action Language, Menus. 
	 Mail Component - Integration of Mail Management. Implications for DSS Design.

The first seminars are dedicated to surveying information sources available on Internet and Intranet, and planning of the papers and projects.  Seminars 3 to 11 are dedicated to paper presentation, while project demos will be scheduled in the last three seminars.	

VII. Didactic methods used
Expositions: description, explanation, class lectures, dialog-based lectures, introductive lectures, current lectures, synthesis lectures. 
Conversations: debate, dialog, introductive conversations, conversations for knowledge consolidation, conversations to systematize and synthesize knowledge. 
Use of problems: use of problem questions, problems and problem situations. 
Discovery: directed and independent rediscovery, creative discovery, inductive discovery, deductive discovery, experimental discovery, discovery by documenting. 
Other methods: case study; cooperation, individual study, exercise, homework study, company examples, discussion of material (using and managing information and decision support systems	

VIII. Assessment
The final mark will cover individual research work (preparing a research paper), as well as the written exam results. It is computed as follows, on a 10-point scale:
•	1pt by default
•	1pt attendance
•	3pts the paper
•	5pts the written exam
Webpage: http://www.cs.ubbcluj.ro/~per/Dss.html	

IX. Additional references
1.	French, S. and Geldermann, J. The varied contexts of environmental decision problems and their implications for decision support. Environmental Science and Policy 8 (2005), 378–391.
2.	Gadomski, A.M. at al.An Approach to the Intelligent Decision Advisor (IDA) for Emergency Managers.Int. J. Risk Assessment and Management, Vol. 2, Nos. 3/4., 2001.
3.	Hackathorn, R. D., and P. G. W. Keen. (1981, September). "Organizational Strategies for Personal Computing in Decision Support Systems." MIS Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 3. 
4.	Holsapple, C.W., and A. B. Whinston. (1996). Decision Support Systems: A Knowledge-Based Approach. St. Paul: West Publishing. ISBN 0-324-03578-0 
5.	Jiménez, Antonio; Ríos-Insua, Sixto; Mateos, Alfonso. Computers & Operations Research. 
6.	Jintrawet, Attachai (1995). A Decision Support System for Rapid Assessment of Lowland Rice-based Cropping Alternatives in Thailand. Agricultural Systems 47: 245-258. 
7.	Joyce E. Berg, Thomas A. Rietz, Prediction Markets as Decision Support Systems, Kluwer Academic Publishers. Manufactured in The Netherlands, 2003.
8.	Keen, P. G. W. (1978). Decision support systems: an organizational perspective. Reading, Mass.,
9.	Keen, P. G. W. (1980). Decision support systems: a research perspective. Decision support systems : issues and challenges. G. Fick and R. H. Sprague. Oxford ; New York, Pergamon Press. 
10.	Larissa T. Moss, Shaku Atre, Business Intelligence Roadmap: The Complete Project Lifecycle for Decision-Support Applications By Publisher: Addison Wesley Professional Pub Date: February 25, 2003 Print ISBN-10: 0-201-78420-3 Print ISBN-13: 978-0-201-78420-6 Pages: 576 Slots: 2.0
11.	Little, J.D.C. "Models and Managers:The Concept of a Decision Calculus." Management Science, Vol.16,NO.8, April, 1970. 
12.	Sauter, V.L.  Decision Support Systems: An Applied Managerial Approach, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997.
13.	Sprague, R. H. and H. J. Watson. Decision support systems: putting theory into practice. Englewood Clifts, N.J., Prentice Hall, 1993. 
14.	Turban, E. and Aronson, J.E. Decision Support Systems and Intelligent Systems, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2001, ISBN-0-13-089465-6
15.	Turban, E. Decision support and expert systems: management support systems. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice Hall, 1995. ISBN 0-024-21702-6
16.	Weick, K.E. and Sutcliffe, K. Managing the Unexpected: Assuring High Performance in an Age of Complexity. Jossey Bass, San Francisco, CA, 2001.
17.	Delic, K.A., Douillet,L. and Dayal, U. "Towards an architecture for real-time decision support systems:challenges and solutions, 2001.
18.	Druzdzel, M. J. and R. R. Flynn. Decision Support Systems. Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. A. Kent, Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1999 
19.	Gachet, A. Building Model-Driven Decision Support Systems with Dicodess. Zurich, VDF, 2004. 
20.	Marakas, G. M. Decision support systems in the twenty-first century. Upper Saddle River, N.J., Prentice Hall, 1999. 
21.	Power, D.J. A Brief History of Decision Support Systems DSSResources.COM, World Wide Web, version 2.8, May 31, 2003. 
22.	Reich, Yoram; Kapeliuk, Adi. Decision Support Systems., Nov2005, Vol. 41 Issue 1, p1-19, 19p.
23.	Decision Support Systems. Elsevier B.V., 2007. [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01679236]	

	Dean,							Chair head,

	Date,							Course responsible,
        	1.10.2010						Lect. PREJMEREAN Vasile, Ph.D.