Blog: Dan Power Subscribe to this blog's RSS feed!

Dan Power

Greetings to all of my friends who work in the area of computerized decision support. This blog is a way for me to share stories from my encounters related to decision support, to comment on industry events, and to comment on other blogger's comments, especially those of my friends on the Business Intelligence Network. I'll try to state my opinions clearly and provide an old professor's perspective on how computers and information technology are changing the world. Decision making has always been my focus, and it will be in this blog as well. Your comments, feedback and questions are welcomed.

About the author >

Daniel J. "Dan" Power is a Professor of Information Systems and Management at the College of Business Administration at the University of Northern Iowa and the editor of DSSResources.com, the Web-based knowledge repository about computerized systems that support decision making; the editor of PlanningSkills.com; and the editor of DSS News, a bi-weekly e-newsletter. Dr. Power's research interests include the design and development of decision support systems and how these systems impact individual and organizational decision behavior.

Editor's Note: More articles and resources are available in Dan's BeyeNETWORK Expert Channel. Be sure to visit today!

Who should participate in building decision support capabilities?

by Daniel Power
Editor, DSSResources.com 

Building decision support capabilities requires varied expertise. More complex data, parallel processing and inexpensive hardware has led to major innovations in data-driven decision support. A complex decision support system (DSS) built using either a Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) or a prototyping approach requires a team development approach. Once the system is developed a group may also be needed to maintain the system. Some large-scale decision support capabilities are built with teams of 2-3 people or with a larger group of 10 or more. Members of DSS development teams are drawn from many areas in an organization, in addition to the Information Systems/Technology group.


Please cite as:

Power, D. J. "Who should participate in building decision support capabilities?" Decision Support News, Vol. 14, No. 10, May 12, 2013

Posted May 13, 2013 7:29 PM
Permalink | No Comments |

What role does a data steward have in providing decision support?

by Daniel Power
Editor, DSSResources.com 

All varieties of data-driven decision support, whether an integrated DSS application, a business intelligence system, or an analytical application, use one or more data sources "owned" by one or more business units. Many decision support special studies also involve analysis of data. A data steward controls access to and use of specific data, and insures the accuracy and integrity of that data. The role of the data steward in decision support is that of a guarantor and an access controller. If each data steward is performing his/her job satisfactorily, then managers can rely on the data used for data-driven decision support. The data steward role is important.

Continue reading at http://dssresources.com/faq/index.php?action=artikel&id=267

Cite as:

Power, D.J. "What role does a data steward have in providing decision support?" decision Support News, Vol. 14, No. 09, April 28, 2013.


Posted April 27, 2013 12:28 PM
Permalink | No Comments |

How can managers improve security for decision support applications?

by Daniel Power
Editor, DSSResources.com 

Decision support security is important. Managers and Information Systems staff must understand and examine the stages involved with improving security for information systems, especially decision support applications. Improving security is a continuous and ongoing task that should be assigned to staff trained for and sensitive to security concerns. Anticipating problems and preventing security breaches is a major goal. Improving security can be examined in a continuous cycle of four stages.

Continue reading at http://dssresources.com/faq/index.php?action=artikel&id=264

Cite as:

Power, D. J. "How can managers improve security for decision support applications?" Decision Support News, Vol. 14, No. 08, April 14, 2013.

Posted April 12, 2013 11:30 AM
Permalink | No Comments |

Is security important for decision support applications?

by Daniel Power
Editor, DSSResources.com 

Decision support applications often contain sensitive data that should be secured. Also, a common source of decision support functionality, an analytical model, may be important to protect as well. Sadly security may be an afterthought that is not addressed until a problem arises. Organizations need to secure and protect decision support capabilities in advance as forethought not as an afterthought. Security is a important issue for creating, managing and using decision support. How important is security? How much should be spent to secure decision support capabilities?

Continue reading at http://dssresources.com/faq/index.php?action=artikel&id=266

Cite as:

Power, D. J. "Is security important for decision support applications?" Decision Support News, Vol. 14, No. 07, March 31, 2013.

Posted March 30, 2013 8:56 AM
Permalink | No Comments |

Does the term big data have utility for managers?

by Daniel J. Power
Editor, DSSResources.COM 

Big data is a colorful phrase for a significant change in data capture, retrieval and storage. Each day, every one of us generates very large amounts of digital data. We send and receive email, visit Web sites and make online purchases, use tools like Google Docs, make phone calls, upload photos to Facebook, use Google Search, chat with friends, take our cars for service, workout at a gym on a machine with an Internet connection, pay bills online, and have our utilities, Internet and cable usage recorded. This data and much more from our activity is recorded and often backed-up in the Cloud. Now we can capture, store and perhaps analyze the data incidental to personal and organization activities and actions. Machine data can also be stored and analyzed.


Power, D. "Does the term big data have utility for managers?" Decision Support News, Vol. 14, No. 06, March 17, 2013.


Posted March 19, 2013 8:51 PM
Permalink | No Comments |
PREV 1 2

   VISIT MY EXPERT CHANNEL

Search this blog
Categories ›
Archives ›
Archive Index
Recent Entries ›