A new framework for Intranet-based group decision support system

The burgeoning Intranet is becoming a standard platform for the new generation of IS (Information System) applications. This paper gives a brief survey of Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS). Then the influence of Intranet on GDSS and limitations of Intranet as a platform for GDSS are analyzed. A new framework for Intranet based GDSS is proposed, which extends the two tier browser/server architecture to multilevel distributed application architecture. A broker level and a middle application level are added, with a GDSS interface embedded in the web browser. The coterminous two levels in the new framework still comply wi th the tradi tional client/server architecture. This framework for Intranet based GDSS is called as extended GDSS (xGDSS, in short). Features of xGDSS include cost effective, short development cycle, open, flexible configuration, general-purpose, etc.