A Friendly Personal Decision Aid
Abstract
Early efforts to produce decision aids, although they led to valuable research findings, did not succeed as field applications. Even when the targeted users agreed that the computer-aided decision process did improve decision making, these aids eventually fell into disuse when the personal support of the decision analysts was removed. User attitudes tended to be dominated by the short-range considerations of speed, convenience, and simplicity of operation, rather than by the long-range factors such as methodological thoroughness and consistency. The primary goal of this research project was to develop a prototype version of a user-friendly decision aid which could be used by persons with little or no prior training. This decision aid was not only designed to be easy to use, but also to save time and fit into the user's office or field site, while still providing the benefits of a technically sound decision-analytic approach. Since then, a prototype system has been developed, and a working model has been delivered to DARPA. This report is intended to accompany that working model. Its function is to document the purpose of the research effort, the technical approach, accomplishments of the project, and the prognosis for future development based on lessons learned during the effort. Because of the aid's self-explanatory nature and its unique hardware configuration, neither a users guide nor a system manual is needed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA109130
Entities
People
- Cameron R. Peterson
- Cynthia L. Cox
- Jonathan J. Weiss
- Robert M. Esoda
- Scott Barclay