Defining Decision Support Systems: An empirical assessment of end-user satisfaction

A field study of 201 Decision Support Systems (DSS) managers and practitioners was conducted to demonstrate procedures for obtaining effective measurement of satisfaction with a DSS. Because of the broad and conflicting conceptions of desirable DSS characteristics that exist in the present literature, it is difficult to establish universal criteria on which a DSS can and should be subjectively evaluated. The approach presented here emphasizes user determination of criteria important for DSS evaluation. In particular the paper reports (a) the development of a reliable and valid instrument to evaluate DSS according to criteria deemed important by the respondents; (b) the respondents’ judgments of important DSS goals, attributes, and functions, and (c) comparisons of criteria importance ratings from managers and practitioners, and from direct and indirect users. Implications of this approach for using subjective evaluations of a DSS and for further research are discussed.