Decision support systems (DSS) can provide useful information and suggestions, but can also promote cognitive bias, information overload, and shift blame from users to the DSS. Users should not rely solely on DSS and must ensure that the system has accurate and sufficient data.
A decision support system (DSS) helps people make a decision by providing people with appropriate information and a suggested response; while this can be useful, there are several disadvantages. One of the disadvantages of decision support systems is that they can prevent the user from thinking and promote a cognitive bias. Users can experience information overload, which reduces the effectiveness of decision making. If a decision fails, some users may shift the blame to the DSS, rather than blaming themselves. DSS programs without enough data can also make bad decisions, because they don’t fully understand the situation.
Most DSS users are professional managers or decision makers who are trained not to rely on DSS programs, as the program is only meant to help make a decision. Some users might be inclined to put a lot of faith in the DSS, as a computer can examine the facts without bias. This can be taken to an extreme and users can stop thinking, instead choosing to trust the computer alone. While this is one drawback of decision support systems, another is that users can create cognitive biases. For example, an intuitive and perceptive thinker may become overly judgmental and factual after interacting with a DSS.
When users look up a decision from a DSS, the program often provides users with information in databases and graphs to help support the decision. Normally, if the information is easily digestible, this will help users make informed decisions, as they will know all the facts and data stored in the DSS database. At the same time, information overload can be one of the disadvantages of decision support systems. If the DSS provides large databases that take hours or days to read, users spend more time examining the facts and trying to remember all the information, rather than making a decision. Aside from information overload, this can reduce the effectiveness of decision making.
Without a DSS, a person making a bad decision can only blame themselves; this usually leads the person to understand what went wrong with the decision, so that they can better deal with a similar situation in the future. DSS programs can compensate for this liability, especially if the user places unusual trust in the program. Instead of assigning the blame to himself, the user can blame the DSS. The personal growth that may have occurred from understanding the wrong decision may instead lead the user to learn how to blame the computer for any deficiencies in the decision making process.
Just like people, a DSS needs information to make accurate and informed decisions. If a DSS is new or has a small or inaccurate database, it may be prone to inaccuracies. Unless the DSS has all the specific information needed to make a decision, the system should not be fully trusted, as any decisions or suggestions could be very wrong. This becomes another major drawback of decision support systems.
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