A Cooperative Approach for Intelligent Decision Support Systems

Our purpose is to improve the design of Decision Support Systems (DSS), Knowledge Base Systems (KBS) and Intelligent Decision Support Systems (IDSS). To achieve this goal we define life-cycle processes of designing DSS and the actors they involved. We would like to provide support to knowledge engineers at the beginning of the process. This paper presents a conceptual framework to model man-machine cooperation in the knowledge acquisition stage. It proposes a shift in the way the IDSS design is viewed, so that the system and the user are in harmony right from the design stage of the system. We describe knowledge engineers’ decision process ; when and how our cooperative approach may be integrated in this process. The aim is to help to design a system that the user will see as a real partner. It will therefore involve sharing intelligence about the situation by interacting and collaborating with partners rather than remaining a passive user. This means putting at the disposal of the user, a system that will help him or her more efficiently with this problem. 1060-3425/98 $10 To achieve this goal, we define a Cooperative Approach to assist knowledge engineers in this task by providing a guideline. The approach adopted here is a global philosophy which functions within the framework of all the methodological principles underlying information, support or knowledge-based systems and cognitive ergonomics. Certain approaches will be compared and combined with one aim : to develop useful and usable systems and their conceptual framework. The aim of this research is not only to make systems more « intelligent » but, above all, to make people more efficient through cooperating with them. We applied this approach to a specific case. Finally, we outline possible further development of such an approach.