ADVANCING THE THEORY OF DSS DESIGN FOR USER CALIBRATION - Human-Computer Interaction and Management Information Systems: Foundations - page 43

C HAPTER 5

ADVANCING THE THEORY OF DSS DESIGN
FOR USER CALIBRATION

G EORGE M. K ASPER AND F RANCIS K. A NDOH -B AIDOO

Abstract: This paper extends, revises, and reports a partial test of the theory of decision support
systems (DSS) design for user calibration. The theory prescribes properties of a DSS needed for
the users to achieve the goal of perfect calibration. Properties of expressiveness, visibility, and
inquirability are posited as requisite components of the DSS dialog. We extend the original theory
of DSS design for user calibration to address the issues of meta-design and critiquing. A test of
components of the theory is reported that compared the effects on user calibration of problems
depicted using either expressiveness in the form of text or visibility in the form of diagrams. The
results of the study support the theory. When problems are new and novel, visual depiction
improves calibration. As problems became more familiar and problem novelty decreased, no dif-
ference was found in user calibration between subjects exposed to visibility diagrams and those
exposed to a traditional text paradigm.

Keywords: Decision Support Systems, Dialog, Design, Design Theory, User Calibration

“From the . . . users' point of view, the Dialog is the System.”
—Sprague and Carlson (1982, p. 29)

“It's not what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so!”
—Will Rogers

INTRODUCTION

The decision selection process is influenced by one's belief in the quality of the decision (Russo
and Schoemaker, 1992). Decision support system designers and researchers have to appreciate
users' perception of the quality of a decision to ensure that good decisions are implemented and
that poor decisions are properly hedged. For the purposes of this discussion, the term decision
support systems includes all forms of information systems and technologies designed to assist one
or more decision makers in making a specific decision or choosing a specific course of action
(Scott Morton, 1984). Although the nature of the support provided by DSS ranges from passive
to intelligent (Henderson, 1987; Humphreys, 1986; Keen, 1987; Luconi et al., 1986; Manheim,
1988; Remus and Kottemann, 1986) and from individual to group (Olson and Olson, 1991), the
primary goal in designing all DSS is to improve decision quality (Keen and Scott Morton, 1978;
Scott Morton, 1984).

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