A decision support system for income-producing real estate development feasibility analysis and alternative assessment

The purpose of this study is to design, develop, and evaluate a prototype scenarioassisteddecision support system (DSS) for use in venture and alternative assessmentduring the predevelopment stage of income-producing real estate development. Thisresearch examines theoretical underpinnings and associated advancements related toincome-producing real estate development and decision support systems. Particularemphasis was placed on synthesis of relating disciplines?? models and advancements thatsupport design and development of the decision support system. The result of thesystem design and development are embodied in a prototype scenario-assisted decisionsupport system for income-producing real estate development (DSSVenture). The designand development of the program are documented in this dissertation.Following the design and development stage, the validation of DSSVenture??s dataand logic models was conducted based on two case studies from well-known real estatedevelopment publications. The system was then tested on a group of graduate studentswho enrolled in an advanced real estate development course at Texas A&M Universityto examine whether its facilitation objective had been achieved. Since this researchhypothesized that the decision support system would facilitate developers?? decisionmaking during predevelopment stage of income-producing real estate development,three operational variables were tested, namely number of alternatives examined, time toreach decisions, and coefficient of projected net present value variations.The testing results indicate that DSSVenture system significantly enhancescomprehensiveness of the decision context by increasing the number of alternatives fordevelopers. Since the use of the system significantly reduces developers?? time to reachdecisions, the efficiency of decision making is improved. Finally, the results of thestudy confirm that the use of DSSVenture system substantially diminishes variation ofprofit projection among decision makers. Therefore, the facilitation objective isachieved.