Ch. 7
Building Data-Driven Decision Support Systems

First we should remember operating data and DSS data serve different purposes. In general, DSS data is data about transactions and business occurrences; operating data is a record of a company’s daily business transactions. DSS data is created to provide tactical and strategic business meaning to operating data and relevant external data. The difference in purpose means that the data formats and structures will likely differ. Managers and systems analysts must recognize that DSS data and operating data differ in terms of six major factors: the data structures, the time span, the summarization of data, data volatility, data dimensions, and metadata. There is a summary of the differences in Table 7.1. Let’s examine differences in each of these factors in more detail.