A Study of User Interface Aids for Model-Oriented Decision Support Systems

The growing importance of DSS for both strategy evaluation and end user computing increases the need to provide research-based guidance for the design of user interface aids. This research study addresses the common belief that greater flexibility and choice in software aids will promote improved user performance. For model-based decision support systems, the effects of user vs. system-guided model manipulation, variable vs. exception-based report content, and display of incremental changes vs. actual outcomes on strategy formulation were investigated in a laboratory experiment with 46 undergraduate business students. The findings suggest that a system-guided or a more structured model manipulation strategy and the display of incremental changes significantly improve performance. Thus, for this task context, evidence is presented which runs counter to popular beliefs.