Utilization-Oriented Evaluation of Decision Support Systems

A major purpose in the design of evaluations is to provide information. This information is useful to the extent that it can and will be used to shape decisions. Thus one way to ensure that evaluation information will be used is to make the information relevant to decisions that are to be made. USE, a model for the systematic evaluation of decision support systems (DSS's), is described. USE focuses on the utilization of evaluation information as a primary objective in evaluation design. Utilization is optimized in the model by 1) directing the evaluation toward decisions that are to be made with regard to the system, 2) ensuring that the evaluation information is timely, 3) incorporating a designer-user-evaluator team, and 4) using an evaluation template to enable rapid evaluation of potential aids. Procedures for choosing measures of effectiveness and the types of evaluation that can be conducted are also discussed.