A new paradigm for computer-based decision support Meurig Beynon, Suwanna Rasmequan, Steve Russ * Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK Abstract We identify and address a fundamental general problem which we regard as crucial for the widespread, effective use of decision support systems (DSS) in the future: how can we substantially improve the quality of interaction, and the degree of flexible engagement, between humans and computers? Rather than seeking an answer in additional technical functionality, we propose a new paradigm for computing that is human-centered and that adopts a novel, observation-oriented approach to data modelling. We report a recent practical work (a timetabling instrument) showing an unusual degree of openness for interaction, and we give evidence that our approach can encompass conventional tools such as expert systems. D 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Decision support systems; Expert systems; Modelling; Observation; Dependency; Agency 1. Introduction The history of decision support systems (DSS) over the past 30 years has seen the opportunistic exploita- tion of every kind of technology that could be brought into service: spreadsheets, databases, networks, hyper- media, expert systems, visual programming, intelligent agents, neural networks, etc. Yet in spite of enormous technical advances over these years in storage, speed, functionality of tools and even interface design, the improvement to be seen in the effectiveness and extent of DSS usage has been relatively modest. There seems to be a significant pattern operating here. On the one hand, applications where useful interactions between human and computer are simple and they can largely be preconceived—such as word processing, account- ing software, e-mail and web-browsing—have esca- lated in use and sophistication very rapidly. On the other hand, applications demanding a high quality of interaction because of human factors, the role of physical context, or the unpredictability of the environ- ment, for example, have made much slower progress. Such applications include those for engineering design, learning environments and requirements engi- neering in addition to business modelling or DSS. There is a prima facie case here that a fundamental problem facing computer applications is that the qual- ity of interaction, and the degree of integration possi- ble between human and computer activities, is affected very slowly, if at all, by technological advance. Many different approaches have been proposed to alleviate this problem [6,13,20]. In this paper, we approach this fundamental prob- lem from a computing perspective that is rather unconventional: we are not so much advocating new technological solutions but rather proposing the adop- tion of a different paradigm for the use of computing 0167-9236/02/$ - see front matter D 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII:S0167-9236(01)00140-3 * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: sbr@dcs.warwick.ac.uk (S. Russ), Meurig.Beynon@dcs.warwick.ac.uk (M. Beynon), suwanna@dcs.warwick.ac.uk (S. Rasmequan). www.elsevier.com/locate/dsw Decision Support Systems 33 (2002) 127 – 142