Task-allocation between DSS and problem owner: The example of Box & Jenkins time-series analysis

The advent of so-called knowledge-based elements in DSS seems to shed new light on the allocation of tasks between decision maker and DSS. Expert Systems or Knowledge Based DSSs incorporate domain knowledge, thereby taking over tasks that used to be the sole responsibility of users and enabling non-expert decision-makers to make expert-quality decisions. In view of these new capabilities, the authors critically analyse in this article the task-allocation between these ‘enhanced’ DSSs and the problem-owner. The discussion is based on a framework in which the unstructured nature of DSS-tasks and the implied goals of the problem-owner play a central role. The implications are illustrated with a case on Box-Jenkins time-series analysis, a typical example of a DSS application based on an elaborate mathematical model for a relatively complex task.