Decision Support Systems

College of Computing and Informatics

Module 8

Chapter 11:Group Decision

Making, Collaborative Systems,
and AI Support

Analytics, Data Science, & Artificial Intelligence

Systems For Decision Support
This Presentation is mainly dependent on this textbook
Contents
o11.2 - Making Decisions in Groups: Characteristics, Processes, Benefits,
and Dysfunctions
o11.3 - Supporting Group Work and Team Collaboration with
Computerized Systems
o11.4 - Electronic Support to Group Communication and Collaboration
o11.5 - Direct Computerized Support for Group Decision Making
o11.6 - Collective Intelligence and Collaborative Intelligence
o11.7 - Crowdsourcing as a Method for Decision Support
o11.8 - Human–Machine Collaboration
Weekly Learning Outcomes
[Link] the basic concepts and processes of group work, communication, and
collaboration

[Link] how computer systems facilitate team communication and collaboration in

an enterprise

[Link] the concepts and importance of the time/place framework

[Link] the underlying principles and capabilities of groupware, such as group support
systems (GSS)

[Link] how the Web enables collaborative computing and group support of
virtual meetings

[Link] collective intelligence and its role in decision making

[Link] crowdsourcing and explain how it supports decision making and problem
solving

[Link] the role of AI in supporting collaboration, group work, and decision making,
 Required Reading
 Chapter 11: “Group Decision Making, Collaborative Systems, and AI
Support ” from “Analytics, Data Science, & Artificial Intelligence: Systems
for Decision Support”.

Recommended Video
 OnlineTutorial| Group Decision Support System (2020, April 23). [Video]. YouTube.
[Link]
11.2 Making Decisions in Groups:
Characteristics, Processes, Benefits, and
Dysfunctions
• Making Decisions in Groups

• Group Decision-Making Process

• Benefits and Limitations of Group Work

Making Decisions in
Groups
• Group work - work done by two or more people together

• Group decision making – a situation in which people make decisions

together.

Two types of Decisions Made by Groups

 Making a decision together.
 Supporting activities or tasks related to the decision-making process (e.g., select
criteria for evaluating alternative solutions, prioritizing, and design strategy to
implement them).
Making Decisions in
Groups

Characteristics of Group Work

• Group members may be located in different places (virtual team)
• Group members may work at different times
• Group members may work for the same organization or different organizations
• A group can be permanent or temporary
• A group can be at one managerial level or span several levels
• A group can create synergy (leading to process and task gains) or result in conflict
• A group can generate productivity gains and/or losses
• It may be impossible or too expensive for all team members to meet in one place at the same
time
• The expertise of a group’s team members may be needed
• Concentrate on decision making or problem solving
• The decisions made by a group are easier to implement if supported by all (or at least most)
members
Group Decision-Making
Process

• The process of group decision

making is similar to that of the
general decision-making process
but has more steps.

The Process of Group Decision Making

Group Decision-Making
Process

Group Decision Facts

•The decisions made need to be implemented.

•Group members are typically of equal or nearly equal status.

•The outcome depends on the knowledge, opinions, and judgments of

its participants and the support they give to the outcome.
Group Decision-Making
Process

Difficulties associated with Group work

 Fear to speak up.
 Unable to reach consensus.
 Lack focus.
 Tendency to produce poor-quality compromises.
 Often non-productive time (e.g., socializing, preparing, waiting for latecomers).
 Tendency to repeat what has already been said (because of failure to remember or
process).
 Meeting costs can be high (e.g., travel, participation time spent).
 Incomplete or inappropriate use of information.
 Too much information (i.e., information overload).
 Incomplete or incorrect task analysis.
 Inappropriate or incomplete representation in the group.
 Attention or concentration blockage.
 Benefits and Limitations of
Group Work
Benefits of Working in Groups (Process Gains) Dysfunctions of Face-to-Face Group Process (Process Losses)

• Individuals at understanding problems. They can teach each other. • Social pressures of conformity may result in groupthink (i.e., people
• People readily take ownership of problems and their solutions. begin to think alike and not tolerate new ideas; they yield to
• conformance pressure).
Group members have their egos embedded in the final decision, so
they are committed it. • It is a time-consuming, slow process.
• Groups are better than individuals at catching errors. • Some relevant information could be missing.
• A group has more information and knowledge than any one • A meeting can lack coordination, have a poor agenda, or be poorly
member does. planned.
• Members can combine their knowledge to create new knowledge • A meeting may be dominated by time, topic, opinion of one or a few
(e.g., through brainstorming). individuals, or fear of contributing because of the possibility of
• conflicts.
A group may produce synergy during problem solving, therefore the
effectiveness and/or quality of group work can be greater than the • Some group members can tend to influence the agenda while some
sum of what individual members produce. try to rely on others to do most of the work (free riding). The group
• may ignore good solutions, have poorly defined goals, or be
Working in a group may stimulate the creativity of the participants
composed of the wrong participants.
and the process.
• Working together could allow a group to have better and more
precise communication.
• Risk propensity is balanced. Groups moderate high-risk takers and
encourage conservatives.
11.3 Supporting Group Work and Team
Collaboration with Computerized Systems
• Overview of Group Support Systems (GSS)

• Time/Place Framework
Overview of Group Support
Systems (GSS)

• Software products that provide collaborative support to groups

• Goal is to support group work

• Reduce the chance for process losses and increase benefit.

• Provide direct or indirect support by improving communication between team members

 Direct support contains capabilities for brainstorming, conferencing, scheduling group

meetings; planning; resolving conflicts; videoconferencing; sharing electronic documents;
voting; formulating policy; and analysing enterprise data.

 Indirect support: Internet, intranets, and IoT support virtual meetings and decision making
through collaborative tools and access to data analysis, information, and knowledge.
Time/Place
Framework
• The time/place framework - convenient
way to describe the communication and
collaboration patterns and support of
group work.

• Communication can be synchronous (i.e.,

same time) or asynchronous (i.e., sent and
received at different times).

• Different technologies can support

different time/place settings.
11.4 Electronic Support to Group
Communication and Collaboration
• Groupware for Group Collaboration

11.5 Direct Computerized Support for Group

Decision Making
• Group Decision Support System (GDSS)

• Brainstorming for Idea Generation and Problem Solving

Groupware for Group
Collaboration
Groupware - computerized tools for supporting group work.
 E.g., e-mail programs, chat rooms, IM, and teleconferences

•Their primary objective is to provide indirect support.

•Groupware products provides a mechanism for team members to share

opinions, data, information, knowledge, and other resources.

•Synchronous versus Asynchronous Products

 E.g.,
 Web conferencing and IM (synchronous mode)
 Google Drive, [Link], Microsoft SharePoint,... (asynchronous modes)
Groupware for Group
Collaboration
• Virtual Meeting Systems
 Support virtual team members in different locations
 E.g., [Link], [Link], [Link], …

• Collaborative Workflow
 software products that address project-oriented and collaborative processes
 leading vendors FileNet and Action Technologies ,…

• Digital Collaborative Workspace

 people can work together from any location at the same or at a different time
 Slack workspace, Cisco’s Webex,…

• Collaborative Networks and Hubs

 The purpose of a collaborative hub is to be a centre point for group collaboration.
Groupware for Group
Collaboration
• Social Collaboration refers to collaboration conducted within and between socially
oriented groups.
 usually done on social media sites, and it is enabled by the Internet, IoT, and
diversified social collaboration software.

Collaboration in social networks: Business-related collaboration is most evidenced on

Facebook and LinkedIn.
 Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter support collaboration as well.

There are software platforms specifically for forming teams and supporting their
activities.
 E.g., Wrike, Ryver, Azendoo, Zimbra social platform, Samepage, Zoho, Asana, Jive, Chatter, and
Social Tables…
Groupware for Group
Collaboration
• Other tools that support collaboration
• Notejoy makes collaborative notes for team
• Kahootz brings stakeholders together to form communities of interest
• Nowbridge offers team connectivity, ability to see participants
• Walkabout Workplace (is a 3D virtual office for remote teams
• RealtimeBoard is a enterprise visual collaboration
• Quora is a popular place for posting questions to the crowd
• Pinterest provides an e-commerce workspace that allows collection of text and
images on selected topics
• IBM connection closed offers a comprehensive communication and collaboration
tool set
• Skedda schedules space for coworking
• Zinc is a social collaboration tool
• Scribblar is an online collaboration room for virtual brainstorming
• Collokia is a machine learning platform for workflow
Group Decision Support
System (GDSS)

Major characteristics and capabilities of a GDSS:

•supports the process of group decision makers mainly by providing automation of
subprocesses (e.g., brainstorming) and using information technology tools.
•It is a specially designed information system, not merely a configuration of already
existing system components.
•It can be designed to address one type of problem or make a variety of group-level
organizational decisions.
•It encourages generation of ideas, resolution of conflicts, and freedom of
expression.
•It contains built-in mechanisms that discourage development of negative group
behaviors, such as destructive conflict, miscommunication, and groupthink.
Group Decision Support
System (GDSS)
There are two options for deploying GDSS technology:
•Decision room
 GDSS is installed in expensive, customized, special- purpose facilities room.

•Internet-based groupware
 The most common approach to GSS and GDSS delivery approach.
 Allows group members to work from any location at any time (e.g., WebEx,
GoToMeeting, Adobe Connect, IBM Connections, Microsoft Teams).

The major limitations of electronic software support are:

 Increased cognitive load
 Fear of using new technology
 Need for technical assistance
Brainstorming for Idea Generation and
Problem Solving

• A major activity in group decision making is idea generation.

• Groups not only generate more ideas but also better ones.

• Brainstorming is a process for generating creative ideas.

• Computer programs can support the various brainstorming activities.

 Support is usually for online brainstorming, synchronously or asynchronously.

• Artificial intelligence can supports brainstorming

 E.g., pattern recognition and identifying ideas that are similar to each other, idea generation
and voting.
Brainstorming for Idea Generation and
Problem Solving
The major features of brainstorming software packages:
•Creation of a large number of ideas.
•Large group participation.
•Real-time updates.
•Information color coding.
•Collaborative editing.
•Design of brainstorming sessions.
•Idea sharing.
•People participation.
•Idea mapping (e.g., create mind maps).
•Text, video, documents, etc. posting.
•Remote brainstorming.
•Creation of an electronic archive.
•Reduction of social loafing.
11.6 Collective Intelligence and
Collaborative Intelligence
• Collective Intelligence Definitions and Benefits

• Collaborative Intelligence
Collective Intelligence Definitions and
Benefits
• Collective intelligence (CI) - total intelligence of a group

• Based on the premise that the combined wisdom of several

collaborating people is greater than that of individuals
working separately.

• CI benefits are the ability to solve complex problems

and/or design new products and services that result from
innovations (e.g., MIT center for CI)
Collective Intelligence Definitions
and Benefits

Types of collective intelligence - three major areas of applications-

 Cognition
 Cooperation
 Coordination

•Several configurations of collective intelligence can be supported

differently by technology (e.g., internet, IoT).

•Collaboration platforms (e.g., Microsoft Teams and Slack) can facilitate

collective intelligence.
Collaborative
Intelligence
Collaborative
Intelligence
How to make people collaborate in groups? (Coleman ,2011)
1. willingness to share
2. knowing how to share
3. being willing to collaborate
4. knowing what to share
5. knowing how to build trust
6. understanding team dynamics
7. using correct hubs for networking
8. mentoring and coaching properly
9. being open to new ideas
10. using computerized tools and technology
11.7 Crowdsourcing as a Method for
Decision Support
• The Essentials of Crowdsourcing
The Essentials of
Crowdsourcing
• A process of outsourcing work to a crowd.

• Method of collective intelligence

Several reasons for outsourcing work:

 Necessary skills may not be available internally
 speed of execution is needed
 problems are too complex to solve
 Or special innovation is needed ([Link])

Goal: improve decision making, assist in solving difficult problem, and wide
exposure to expertise.
The Essentials of
Crowdsourcing
Some crowdsourcing use case
•Airbnb is using user-submitted videos (15 seconds each) that describe travel
sites.
•Dell’s Idea Storm ([Link]) enables customers to vote on features of Idea
Storm
•The LEGO company has a platform called LEGO Ideas through which users can
•submit ideas for new LEGO sets and vote on submitted ideas by the crowd.

Crowdsourcing vendors
 E.g., Logo design (Design Bill), Problem solving (InnoCentive, NineSigma, IdeaConnection ),
Business innovation (Chardix), Brand names (Name This), Product and manufacturing
design (Pronto ERP),Data cleansing (Amazon Mechanical Turk), Software testing (uTest),
Trend watching(TrendWatching), Images (Flickr Creative Commons)…
The Essentials of
Crowdsourcing

Major Types Of Crowdsourcing

[Link] intelligence (or wisdom): People in crowds are solving problems and
providing new insights and ideas
[Link] creation: People are creating various types of content and sharing it
with others (for pay or free).
[Link] voting: People are giving their opinions and ratings on ideas, products,
or services (e.g., voting in American Idol competitions).
[Link] support and funding. People are contributing and supporting endeavors
for social or business causes, such as offering donations, and micro-financing new
ventures.
11.8 Human–Machine Collaboration
• Robots as Coworkers: Opportunities and Challenges

• Teams of collaborating Robots

Human–Machine
Collaboration

• Machines that once supported manufacturing work are used now also in
support of cognitive, including managerial, and work.

• Human–machine/AI collaboration will shape the future of work

• For people and machines to work in teams, it is necessary to make special

preparations.
 humans controlling and monitoring production and robots doing physical work that
requires speed, power, accuracy, or nonstop attention..
Human–Machine Collaboration

• AI enables the automation of nonmanual activities.

• Today human–machine collaboration in cognitive jobs become possible

with the advancement of machine learning and deep learning.
 E.g., IBM Watson, chatbots, medical diagnoses of complex situations, investments
decisions…

• Robots complement human capabilities

 E.g., Amazon’s distribution centers mobile robots do a variety of tasks, mostly in
hauling materials and helping to fulfill customer orders
Robots as Coworkers: Opportunities and
Challenges

• Robots will become cognitive coworkers and help people be more

productive.

• Collaboration reduced idle time by 85 percent (Tobe, 2015)

• Collaborative robots (co-bots) are designed to work with people,

assisting in executing various tasks.

• Blending humans and AI to best serve customers

Robots as Coworkers: Opportunities and
Challenges

Some challenges must be considered

 Designing a human–machine team that capitalizes on the strength

of each partner
 Exchanging information between humans and robots
 Preparing company employees in all departments for the
collaboration (Marr,2017)
 Changing business processes to accommodate human–robot
collaboration (Moran,2018)
 Ensuring the safety of robots and employees that work together
Robots as Coworkers: Opportunities and
Challenges
Technologies That Support Robots As Coworkers (Yurieff,2018b)

 Virtual reality can be used as a powerful training tool (e.g., for

safety).
 A robot is working with an ad agency in Japan to generate ideas.
 A robot can be your boss.
 Robots are coworkers in providing parts out of bins in assembly lines
and can check quality together with humans.
 AI tools measure blood flow and volume of the cardiac muscles in
seconds. This information facilitates the decisions made by
radiologists.
Teams of collaborating
Robots

• Future directions in robotics is creating teams of robots that are designed to

do complex work

Team of Robots Prepares to Go to Mars

Main Reference
 Chapter 11: “Group Decision Making, Collaborative Systems, and AI
Support ” from “Analytics, Data Science, & Artificial Intelligence: Systems
for Decision Support”.

Week self-review
exercises
 Application case 11.1 – 11.3 from “Analytics, Data Science, &
Artificial Intelligence: Systems for Decision Support”
Thank
You