UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2019/2020
EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN
DATA ANALYICS/MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS
MANAGEMENT
MDA 5203/MISM 5203: DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS
DATE: MAY, 2020 TIME: 14 DAYS
INSTRUCTIONS: Answer ALL Questions
Take-Home Examination (THE)
QUESTION ONE (50 MARKS)
DSS is a computerized-based information system that organizes, collects, and analyzes business
data that can be used in decision-making activities for the management, operations, and planning
in an organization or business. The typical types of information that is gathered by a decision
support system may include sales figures and projected revenue, inventory data that has been
organized into relational databases for analysis, and comparative sales figures between specific,
selected time periods. A good DSS helps decision-makers with compiling various types of data
gathered from several different sources, including documents, raw data, management, business
models and personal knowledge from employees. DSS applications can be used in a vast array of
diverse fields, such as credit loan verification, medical diagnosis, business management,
evaluating bids on engineering projects, agricultural production and railroad evaluation.
DSS operates on several levels and there are many examples of common day-to-day use for
decision support systems. For instance, GPS is used to determine the best and quickest route
between two points. This task is completed by comparing and analyzing the option for multiple
possibilities. GPS systems may also include features such as traffic avoidance, which monitors
the traffic conditions between the two points, allowing you to avoid traffic congestion. One of
the easiest ways to understand how DSS works is to consider your computer use; every time you
log on and use a search engine, you’ve used a DSS to organize a massive amount of information
and transform it into images, videos, and text files in order to choose the information that best
suits your search.
There are many ways DSS are used. Farmers use tools for crop-planning to help determine the
best planting time, when to fertilize and when harvest. When DSS is used in medicine it is
known as clinical DSS. The functions of clinical DDS may be used to manage details and
complex information for a wide range of things, such as maintaining research information about
chemotherapy protocols, preventative care, tracking orders and follow-up care. The system is
often used for cost control, avoiding duplicate tests and monitoring medication orders. DSS is
also used with medical diagnosis software, which provides medical personnel with the ability to
diagnose illnesses. Some states have used DSS to provide information about potential hazards,
such as floods. The system includes real-time weather conditions and may include information
(current and historical) about floodplain boundaries and county flood data. Real estate companies
often use DSS for information about properties, including current data such as neighborhood
comparison prices, acreage and future planning. Universities and colleges rely on DSS to know
how many students are currently enrolled, which allows them to predict how many additional
students are needed in particular courses or overall population to ensure there are enough
students enrolled to meet the university costs.
REQUIRED:
1. Review the literature to understand contemporary technologies used in Decision Support
Systems
2. Identify ways in which these technologies can be implemented in decision support
systems to assist decision and policy makers in addressing epidemic issues such as for
Corona virus. Suggest ways in which the following can be facilitated.
a. Early Warning
b. Diagnosis
c. Prognosis
d. Contact Tracing
e. Social Distancing
f. Logistics
3. Write a scholarly report
Note: Plagiarism will attract 0 mark for the entire report.
(50 MARKS)
