DECISION MAKING IN A GEOGRAPHICALLY DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENT

THE OBJECTIVE IS TO CREATE GROUP DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM (GDSS) SOFTWARE WHICH PERMITS ARMY PERSONNEL TO QUICKLY MAKE DECISIONS, EVEN WHEN THE DECISION MAKERS ARE LOCATED AROUND THE WORLD. THE SOFTWARE WOULD OPERATE ON PERSONAL COMPUTERS, SUCH AS THE ZENITH 148, AND BE COMPATIBLE WITH THE ARMY'S WORD-PROCESSORS AND OTHER SOFTWARE. SPECIFIC PHASE I OBJECTIVES WILL BE TO DEFINE AND PROGRAM THE FEATURES WHICH THE MODEL MUST INCLUDE, SUCH AS: (1) IT MUST PROVIDE EASY-TO-USE WORD-PROCESSING, GRAPHICS, A CALENDAR, AND DATABASE, SO THAT A NOVICE USER COULD CREATE NEW DOCUMENTS, OR ADD COMMENTS TO DOCUMENTS WHICH ARE BEING REVIEWED FOR DECISIONS (2) IT MUST INCLUDE STATE-OF-THE-ART COMMUNICATIONS SO THAT ARMY DECISION MAKERS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD CAN BE INFORMED VIA FAX, ELECTRONIC MAIL OR PAPER MAIL AND (3) IT MUST COLLECT COMMENTS, TABULATE AND RANK VOTES OF THESE DECISION MAKERS, AND REPORT THESE RESULTS IN MINUTES. THIS SOFTWARE WOULD EXPEDITE ARMY DECISION MAKING WORLDWIDE. THE SOFTWARE WOULD PERMIT A COMPUTER NOVICE TO SEND ELECTRONIC MAIL, AND FAXES DIRECTLY FROM A PC THEREBY STREAMLINING COMMUNICATIONS IN THE ARMY.