Voting mechanisms and their implications in a GDSS environment

There comes a time in most group discussions that a decision has to be made. This is the role most often filled by the voting process. Through computer and telecommunication technology, new capabilities have been added to this age-old process. It is important to understand the implications of these new capabilities and the voting process as a whole to fully take advantage of the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls they provide. This paper investigates the implications of voting in a group decision support system (GDSS) environment. Procedural and operational issues related to the voting process are identified. These issues are used to compare and contrast a number of voting protocols. Many of the protocols have been implemented and tested in the CM³ (Computer Mediated Meeting Management) group decision support system.