On Information Structuring in Choice Making: A Case Study of Systems Engineering Decisionmaking in Beef Cattle Production

One important activity in analyzing a choice-making problem is structuring prior information into a model that reflects the reality of the decisionmaker's decision situation. The process of identifying and organizing the factors relevant to a decision situation into a framework that facilitates determination of the optimal course of action is called structuring. The structure of a decision model is limited by the extent of the decisionmaker's abilities to anticipate changes in the decision situation resulting from new information. Perspectives on structuring for decisionmaking follow directly from the systems engineering viewpoint and the steps of systems engineering. Choice making or decisionmaking is a vital part of the systems engineering process and depends critically upon the other steps for success. The primary intent and purpose is to continue the development of structuring aids for decision analysis and the integration of decision analysis with other steps in the systems engineering process. A case study of an investment decision problem in the beef production system is considered in order to illustrate the role of structuring in the decisiounaking steps of systems engineering.