Aiding the Decision Maker - A Decision Process Model

Despite an increasing capability for automating various tasks there continues to be a requirement for man to serve as the decision element in many complex systems. The complexity and far-reaching consequences of many decisions impels a concern for improving decision-making perforrnance in man-machine systems. In this paper current knowledge regarding human decision behaviour and methods for aiding this behaviour are briefly reviewed. A tentative, conceptual model of an idealized process of decision making is presented. This model, which is based on both empirical and theoretical research, contains three phases. These are (1) problem recognition, (2) problem diagnosis, and (3) action selection. The model is intended primarily to provide a guide to system designers in structuring decision tasks and a framework for organizing knowledge about decision-making behaviour.