Task Force on
Learning from Case Studies in Decision Making and Decision Support
Chair of the task force: Fergal Carton, University College Cork Ireland
Email: F.Carton@ucc.ie
The 2010 meeting of the IFIP 8.3 Task Force took place at the DSS2010 Open Conference Lisbon, July 7th 2010.
The principal theme of the Lisbon meeting was the elaboration of case study attributes that might be used to build a framework to represent the complexity of teaching cases. Although a Case complexity framework has been presented at the London 09 meeting which mapped case complexity against two attributes (complexity of scenario versus complexity of underlying theory), the work at this meeting resulted in the development of a more complete set of attributes, and a corresponding framework Using this framework will help to build a portfolio of cases with purposeful gradation in complexity depending on intended audience or utilisation.
The next stage for this task force is the application of the framework to some real teaching cases, such as those mentioned, in order to establish whether the patterns that can be derived from diverse cases lend themselves to particular teaching objectives related to decision making in organisations or the use of DSS. It is felt that such a validation would provide the basis for a strong publication. The target journal has not been identified. The interaction between participants was lively and encourages us in our belief that these smaller workgroup sessions offer us a valuable chance to stand back from the operational side of teaching and to exchange valuable insights on the methods and value of using rich case material in a DSS context.
You don’t have to be an existing member of the task force to attend, so please pass this invitation on to friends and colleagues. Membership of the task force is automatic once two events have been attended, so coming to this meeting gets a new participant halfway there, If you also register for, and attend, the DSS2010 conference, this counts as your "two events attended" which entitles you to become a full member of IFIP WG8.3. For the moment I would just need an indication that you intend to come to the meeting. No need to submit a paper,you will be asked to submit a title of your presentation as we get closer to the date (Watch this space). There is no registration fee for attending the Task Force meeting, the only costs relate to food and refreshments on 7 July.
An Agenda for Research
The task force's research activities focus on: learning from case studies of decision making and decision support.
Our interest is primarily in a mode of research which focuses on single instances of phenomena, such that n = 1. This however, is not sufficient as this focus on single cases has sometimes been associated with (or criticised for) excessively descriptive types of research. Our aim therefore is to carry out such studies of single cases in a way that ensures that conceptualisation is always achieved at the end and that specific, observable and useable research findings are derived.
The accumulation of cases carried out can then be used to build up theories and frameworks of broad applicability to our field.
In this context, members of the task force have expressed interest in using the case study approach in a number of directions:
1. Decision Support and teaching / learning
2. Support for Interdisciplinary Teams
3. Physical environments for Decision Making
4. Information and Communication Technologies for Decision Support
5. Decision Making in the Adaptive organisation
6. Knowledge embeddedness in Decision Systems / Impact on organisational agility
Whilst it was noted that such a diversity of domains cannot possibly be researched by a small group of researchers, the existence of rich future perspectives within the group was an encouraging sign. Individuals have expressed interest in seeking to collaborate towards at least 3 of these directions and this will provide a springboard for the longer term future of the task force. These directions may find a home on the task force’s web site assuming that moderators come forward for them.
Publication of Task Force Work
The work of the group was published in a special issue of the Journal of Decision Systems: Vol 17. No1, 2008. It featured some of the best papers from the Paris, London, Budapest and Samos meetings of the task force The specia issue was edited by David Sammon and Patrick Humphreys.
Additionally, a book is being prepared on the specific topic of learning from case studies in decision making and decision support. This book will be in two parts: a first methodological part which will present a number of key chapters on how to research and write rich case studies and a second part with a selection of cases provided by task force members. Each case will be designed to demonstrate particular aspects of case study research and case study use in teaching. Many such cases are already available within the task force. Frederic Adam is leading this project. He has approached two major editors with this project and the feed back is good. The detailed call for chapters will be issued as soon as the contract with the publisher is signed.
Meetings of the task force
This task force was set up at the WG8.3 Cork conference in 2002.
Meetings of the task force were held in Paris 2003, London, 2004, Budapest, 2005, Cork, 2007 and London 2009.
Membership of the Task Force
Membership of the Task Force is open to all Members and Friends of WG8.3 who are interested in developing, comparing and publishing case studies in decision Making and Decision Support. For further information, please contact the Chair of the Task Force.
Current members of the task force are: Fred Adam, Marco Bohanec, Patrick Brezillon, Sven Carlsson, Fergal Carton, Joao Climaco, Eidi Cruz-Valdivieso, Jozsef Csicsman, Mary Daly, Guisseppi Forgione, Peter Gelleri, Rien Hamers, Patrick Humphreys, Garrick Jones, Peter Keenan, Piero Migliarese, Manuel Mora, Karen Neville, Peter O’Donnell. Dan O’Leary, Zita Paprika, David Paradice, Daniel Power, Ana Respicio, Simon Woodworth.
