What are the components of a decision support system?
Traditionally, academics and practitioners have discussed building Decision Support Systems in terms of four major components 1) the user interface, 2) the database, 3) the models and analytical tools, and 4) the DSS architecture and network (cf., Sprague and Carlson, 1982). This traditional list of components remains useful because it identifies similarities and differences between categories or types of DSS and it can help managers and analysts build new DSS.According to Sprague (1980), “Opening the large DSS box reveals a database, a model base, and a complex software system for linking the user to each of them (p. 14).” Sprague argued a decision support system “is comprised of three sets of capabilities: database management software (DBMS), model base management software (MBMS), and the software for managing the interface between the user and the system, which might be called the dialogue generation and management software (DGMS). These three major subsystems provide a convenient s
