Final Study Guide Chapter 4 IT for Decision Support 1 Agent Based Technology or Software Agent Small piece of software that acts on your behalf or on behalf of another piece of software performing tasks assigned to it Types 1 Autonomous agent Can adapt and alter manner in which it attempts to achieve its assign task 2 Distributed agent 3 Mobile agent 4 Intelligent agent Works on multiple distinct computer systems Relocates itself onto different computer systems 5 Multi agent system Incorporates artificial intelligence capabilities such as learning and reasoning Group of intelligent agents with ability to work independently but must also work with each other in order to achieve assigned task 2 Artificial Intelligence AI Science of making machines imitate human thinking and behavior Categories 1 Expert systems Applies reasoning capabilities to reach a conclusion 2 Neural networks and fuzzy logic Capable of finding and differentiating a pattern 3 Genetic algorithms Mimics the evolutionary survival of the fittest process to generate increasingly better solutions to a problem 4 Agent based technologies Small piece of software that acts on your behalf or on behalf of another piece of software performing tasks assigned to it 3 Autonomous Agent 4 Buyer Agent or Shopping Agent Type of agent based technology 5 Data Management An example of an information agent Software agent that can adapt and alter manner in which it attempts to achieve its assigned task Agents on a Web site that help you the customer to find products and services you need Performs functions of storing and maintaining information and also that of giving you access to information you want your DSS to use component of a Decision Support System i e in Excel you can build store and retrieve workbooks each workbook can contain numerous worksheets you can import data from variety of other sources like a database Sources of information you use in your DSS 1 Organizational information You can design your DSS to access information directly from your company s databases data warehouses and specialized systems such as CRM and SCM 2 External information 3 Personal information Some decisions require input from external source of information Various branches of government Dow Jones and the Internet can provide additional information for use with a DSS You can incorporate your own insights and experiences your personal information into your DSS 6 Data Mining Agent Operates in a data warehouse discovering information Suggests questions you may not even thought to ask Final Study Guide i e What else do young men buy on Friday afternoons when they come in to buy diapers Most common type is classification Finds patterns in information and categorizes items into those classes Neural Networks are part of many data mining tools May detect major shift in trend or key indicator i e Volkswagen uses intelligent agent system that acts as early warning system about market conditions If conditions become such that assumptions underlying company s strategy are no longer true the intelligent agent alerts managers 7 Decision Support System DSS Highly flexible and interactive IT system that is designed to support decision making when situation includes non structured elements Primary objectives User interface management Simple and easy to use graphical user interface GUI Data management Model management Access to large amounts of information Models and tools statistical and analytical that you can use to massage information 8 Distributed Agent Software agent that works on multiple distinct computer systems Type of agent based technology 9 Expert System or Knowledge Based System Artificial intelligence system that applies reasoning capabilities to reach a conclusion Excellent for diagnostic intelligence phase of decision making and prescriptive problems choice phase of decision making i e tells a driver what to do when approaching a traffic light Usually built for specific application area called Domain i e in accounting for tax planning in medicine to prescribe antibiotics and diagnose diseases in HR to determine whether a company is in compliance with federal employment laws forestry management to help with harvesting timber 10 Fuzzy Logic Mathematical method of handling imprecise or subjective information Approach to assign values between 0 and 1 to vague or ambiguous information higher the value the closer to 1 i e you assign the value 0 8 to the value hot Construct rules and processes called Algorithms to describe interdependence among variables Steps that relate variables representing inexact information or personal perceptions Important part of most text analytics systems Very good at disambiguation Ability to identify named entity recognition based on surrounding text 11 Genetic Algorithm An artificial intelligence system that mimics the evolutionary survival of the fittest process to generate increasingly better solutions to a problem It finds the combinations of inputs that give the best outputs i e Staples to evaluate consumer responses to over 22 000 package designs to determine optimal set of package design characteristics 12 Geographic Information Systems GIS Decision support system designed specifically to analyze Spatial Information Any information that can be shown in map form Business Geography GIS software to generate maps showing information of interest Final Study Guide 13 Implementation Many dimensions or layers called Themes Carry out the chosen solution monitor the results and make adjustments as necessary Phase 4 of decision making apply the fix Analytics takes on role of quality control Allowing you to gather information regarding your solution to ensure it s stays on target Solution will always need fine tuning 14 Information Agent Search for information of some kind and bring it back Type of Intelligent Agent i e best known of these are buyer agents 15 Intelligent Agent Incorporate some form of AI such as reasoning and learning to assist you or act on your behalf in performing repetitive computer related tasks Types 1 Information agents Search for information of some kind and bring it back 2 Monitoring and Surveillance agents Constantly observe and report on some entity of interest a network or manufacturing equipment 3 User Personal agents Take action on your behalf such as sorting your e mail by priority dumping unsolicited e mail into your spam folder and playing computer games as your opponent 4 Data Mining agents