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linking the actions to needs expressed within a
decision, the reasons for taking particular actions are
available, this may reflect on rework when issues are
readdressed. Identifying the initiating agent allows
responsibility to be allocated for decisions and
accountability made available. If an action has not
been taken (or has not been reported) then rework
can be avoided by making sure the reasons for the
action not occurring are not repeated. The method
could also provide decision support outside the
project in which it is being used. By having the
range of decisions available including information
on initiating and acting agents it would be possible
to evaluate which parts of an organisation are being
over or under utilised and where financial and
material resources need to be allocated.
7 CONCLUSION
This paper has proposed a method by which we can
approach the issue of rework related to decision
making in organisations and the development of
information systems. The method can be used to
provide a decision support system of a form which
gives information regarding completed decisions and
the links between decisions, rather than proposing
alternatives and strategies for choosing between
alternatives. The issue of tracking decisions is
addressed by identifying a number of components
into which decisions can be decomposed. The
components are related to the stages which have
been identified in decision making processes.
Agents, which can be defined as individuals, groups
or organisations, have needs which can be fulfilled
through actions, either by the agent itself or other
agents acting on its behalf. The agent which is to
carry out the action may itself have needs with
regard to the action which are fulfilled by actions on
the part of further agents. This agent, need, action
loops recurs until a position is reached in which an
agent can fulfil its needs without recourse to a
decision. Once this point is reached the actions occur
in a reverse spiral, the decisions at each level being
fulfilled by the action occurring in the previous
level.
By identifying the components of decisions it is
possible to determine if all of the stages involved in
a decision have been completed. With greater
transparency in the decision making process, the
result of identifying if stages are missing or
incomplete, rework can be identified and avoided if
detrimental in its effects on the project, or
recognised and implemented across further aspects
of the project if the result is beneficial.
The authors would like to thank Tony Knight of
UBS solutions for his contributions. This work was
conducted under the auspices of the Tracker Project,
UK EPSRC grant (GR/R12183/01).
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OF DECISIONS
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