A Decision Support System is simply an interface that allows choice model results to be rapidly interrogated. A DSS answers decision makers’ questions quickly and clearly.

What is a Decision Support System (DSS)?

The results of any Choice study are encapsulated in a Decision Support System (DSS).

In the very basic example below, the model predicts market share for Product A. Any of the features we tested (Size, Colour, Added Features, Packaging and Price) can be changed using the drop down menu, and the graph will show the predicted Market Share for that combination of features and price.

Click on the 'next' button to watch a short animation showing how the results can be easily interrogated.

A completed Choice Model is a mass of formulas and coefficients. The coefficients express the granular utility of individual features (e.g. Colour), levels of features (e.g. blue), specific combinations of features (e.g. blue and large, but not blue and small), and we use them to predict outcomes (like Market Share) for any of the myriad permutations of product features we have tested.

But our clients don’t need to, and certainly don’t want to, be exposed to the dense and arcane mathematics.

So, we give them an interface that sits on top of the model and allows them to easily construct ‘what if’ scenarios and see the predicted outcome. This is a Decision Support System.