Towards a prescriptive negotiation support system

Negotiations can be a complex process for which sufficient foresight and planning are required. A negotiator must be prepared both strategically; and tactically. A negotiation support system is presented that proactively assists the user in planning and preparation. Both forms of preparation, strategic and tactical, are incorporated into the architecture. The decison making paradigms of the strategic support are drawn from conflict analysis, while a rule-based system provides tactical support. The specific goals and characteristics of the negotiator are reconciled with the possible plans of action generated by the tactical and strategic support systems through the use of a multicriteria decision making technique called the Ordinal Hierarchy Method. The precise definition and implementation of this system is currently being completed.