Lecture
Definition
Executive support systems (Executive Support Systems — ESS) make it possible to take unstructured decisions at the strategic level of organizational management and to carry out systematic analysis of information from the external environment better than any applied or specialized IS.
Such systems supply a body of current information — on the one hand, external: stock prices, industry supply and demand, political news, economic surveys, forecasts of price dynamics and the choice of an optimal investment portfolio structure (based on various empirical models of market dynamics); on the other hand, internal: analytical accounting data for the organization from the internal modules of management information systems (MIS) and decision support systems (DSS). Unlike the latter, executive support information systems (ESS) filter and organize data and identify critical parameters according to specified statistical criteria, reducing the time and effort needed to prepare the information the executive requires. Such systems use the most up-to-date software, which can deliver the necessary graphical, audio and video information immediately to the executive's office, to the boardroom, or to the screen of a tablet or gadget.
ESS systems often use a relatively simple statistical apparatus, but take maximum account of the specifics of the business area that have developed within the organization (professional terminology, systems of various indices, etc.). Unlike other information systems (TPS, MIS, DSS), they are not designed to solve any particular set of problems; they provide the prompt delivery of generalized, non-formalized information for assessing situations with a dynamically changing set of problems.
ESS systems use simpler evaluation algorithms than DSS; their analytical capabilities make it possible to build relatively simple models that can be directly applied for a preliminary assessment of a situation, to compile information packages on specified topics, and to provide convenient access for top management without intermediaries. The interface is as user-friendly as possible, using clear graphics, audio and video tools, mobile communication, modern methods of data storage and presentation, as well as videoconferencing in remote offices. Unlike universal expert systems and compact data-analysis applications, ESS information systems are usually built individually «to order» and are included as executive modules in the organization's corporate information system.
At present, with the development of Internet/Intranet technologies, the range of ESS users has expanded significantly and now covers practically all levels of decision-making (except the operational level). ESS information bases contain large volumes of visual and archival information, which can be very useful at all levels of project execution. Modern ESS systems also make broad use of geographic information system technologies (Geographical Information System — GIS), which until recently had not become widespread because of their high cost and the need to develop the required software modules and interfaces. Multidisciplinary and multinational corporations of the last quarter of the 20th century, involved in the oil, geological exploration, air transport, fishing and tourism businesses, made geographic information systems a necessary addition to the corporation's general-purpose information system.
An example of a long-lived ESS system is the Comshare’s Commander Decision package , built on «client-server» technology. The package works with information of any kind, including queries, calculations, straightforward statistical data analysis, and work with tables and hypertext; it provides selective monitoring, recognition of information by templates, presentation of charts of the best and worst indicators, and flags the need to update information based on current data samples.
As an example of a modern ESS, we may cite the QlikView system — a BI platform with associative in-memory search, with built-in tools for extracting data from external sources, transforming and cleansing it to fit the needs of the business model, and loading it into a data warehouse. In 2012, the system was placed among the leaders of the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence platform vendors. Starting with version 11, the platform supports access from iPhone, iPad, and mobile devices running Android.
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