Which Buttons And Bars? An Exercise In Community Participation In Decision Support Software Development

Abstract

Abstract:In developing an environmental DSS it is important to have a good understanding of who will use it and how. The best way to do this is by interacting with a user group during the development process to ensure an appropriate design and to foster interest and ownership of the product. A prototype of the Environmental Flows Decision Support System (EFDSS) has been developed in this manner. Using the Border Rivers Catchment of NSW/QLD as a case study, a community reference group was established and regularly consulted throughout development of the system. Members provided important input and feedback on interface design resulting in numerous modifications and enhancements to the final prototype. Many lessons were learned and one of the spin-offs was the addition of an entire explanation module -EFDSSlnfo -which had otherwise only been considered peripheral to the system.

Development of a web-based decision support system (DSS) for managing large international rivers

“…ıve users to intuitively grasp and quickly understand important aspects and implications of policy options considered. As our experience demonstrates, significant improvements in the presentation and relevance to the problem at hand can be addressed through joint DSS development sessions, when analysts and modellers work together with users to build tools understandable and acceptable to all parties involved (see Cuddy et al, 2000). Cultural and social aspects associated with DSS development and usage are currently the subject of various research efforts (Lai Lai and Quaddus, 2002).…”

“…Interesting research results concerning experiences collected during participatory resource management projects (Hare et al, 2002) or public involvement in development of decision support tools (Cuddy et al, 2000) demonstrate advances, but also challenges facing researchers and practitioners.…”