>>10356292WHILE ACADEMICS HAVE PERCEIVED DSS AS A TOOL TO SUPPORT DECISION MAKING PROCESSES, DSS USERS SEE DSS AS A TOOL TO FACILITATE ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESSES.[1] SOME AUTHORS HAVE EXTENDED THE DEFINITION OF DSS TO INCLUDE ANY SYSTEM THAT MIGHT SUPPORT DECISION MAKING AND SOME DSS INCLUDE A DECISION-MAKING SOFTWARE COMPONENT; SPRAGUE (1980)[2] DEFINES A PROPERLY TERMED DSS AS FOLLOWS:
DSS TENDS TO BE AIMED AT THE LESS WELL STRUCTURED, UNDERSPECIFIED PROBLEM THAT UPPER LEVEL MANAGERS TYPICALLY FACE;
DSS ATTEMPTS TO COMBINE THE USE OF MODELS OR ANALYTIC TECHNIQUES WITH TRADITIONAL DATA ACCESS AND RETRIEVAL FUNCTIONS;
DSS SPECIFICALLY FOCUSES ON FEATURES WHICH MAKE THEM EASY TO USE BY NON-COMPUTER-PROFICIENT PEOPLE IN AN INTERACTIVE MODE; AND
DSS EMPHASIZES FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY TO ACCOMMODATE CHANGES IN THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE DECISION MAKING APPROACH OF THE USER.