Design Methods for Decision Support Systems: A Perspective of Small Business B2C E-Commerce Environment

This article reviews methods to the development of a decision support system (DSS) solution for small business owners/managers. The main objective of designing the DSS artefact is to support the strategic decision-making for achieving competitive advantages in the business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce environment. Many researchers in the DSS domain utilised various methods to design of information systems (IS) artefact, mostly intended for large businesses. Researchers have paid much attention to the business environment as a knowledge source for DSS design and development for the small business strategic decision support needs. User-centred design (UCD) principles were adopted for DSS development. Prior a novel DSS development, multiple case studies were carried out for understanding the user needs and system requirements. Also, knowledge was sourced from the external business environment via the analysis of small business website features against their overseas competitors. The findings suggested developing a DSS solution for small business needs.