The purpose of this research was to understand how the integration of the new Decision Support System (DSS) at City College of San Francisco (CCSF) had impacted data retrieval at the college, and specifically, how decision making had been affected in various divisions and among a variety of users. There were several initial questions that the college’s Office of Research, Planning and Grants (ORPG) sought to answer, such as: How are people using the DSS, and what are they using it for? Has the DSS changed people's perception of how data and information are used at the college?
The purpose of this research was to understand how the integration of the new Decision Support System (DSS) at City College of San Francisco (CCSF) had impacted data retrieval at the college, and specifically, how decision making had been affected in various divisions and among a variety of users. There were several initial questions that the college’s Office of Research, Planning and Grants (ORPG) sought to answer, such as: How are people using the DSS, and what are they using it for? Has the DSS changed people's perception of how data and information are used at the college? How can the college interest a wider audience in the DSS? This paper attempts to answer these questions, as well as provide additional context for understanding how the new DSS influenced the way decisions were approached or resolved. In addition, we were interested in finding out whether the structure or function of users’ positions had shifted with ongoing use of the new system. And finally, we wanted the opportunity to explore and document the process by which CCSF had introduced this desktop research tool into the culture of the organization and to examine its impact on the behaviors of those within the college.