Grounded in an appreciation of decision making and knowledge, Part Two lays out the foundation for understanding what decision support systems are and how they are developed. Although there is considerable diversity among specific DSSs, there are also major commonalities that they share. These shared traits differentiate decision support systems from other classes of business computing systems. Individual chapters focus on the traits that DSSs can exhibit, on the architectural components that allow them to exhibit these traits, on methods used to construct decision support systems, and on software tools that DSS developers can use during construction.

Chapter 5 traces the history of DSSs, contrasting them with electronic data processing and management information systems. It summarizes technological advances that have led to the widespread use of DSSs. A human metaphor is used to outline the kinds of behaviors we might expect from DSSs. Potential benefits and limitations of these systems are summarized.

Chapter 6 applies the human metaphor to produce a simple architecture that can be used to organize the study or design of any DSS. This generic framework identifies important components of a DSS and indicates how they are related to each other and the DSS's user. Several special cases of the generic DSS framework are examined. Each of these specialized frameworks emphasizes the use of a certain computer-based knowledge management technique(s).

Chapter 7 examines issues that the developer of a DSS faces. It points out the distinction between professional developers and do-it-yourself developers, each having certain advantages over the other when it comes to building a DSS. Phases in the process of developing a decision support system are presented. These may be followed in a formal, detailed fashion or they can be used as informal guides to a development approach that involves the construction of DSS prototypes.

Chapter 8 is concerned with software tools that developers can use to help implement decision support systems. Some tools are used to construct or maintain one or more components of a DSS. Other tools furnish the software that actually becomes a component of the DSS. In the latter case, the tool typically embodies one or more computer-based techniques for managing knowledge. There are several distinct approaches to integrating multiple knowledge management techniques into a single DSS.