Index to Cartography and Geographic Information Science,Volume 27

A number of decision support systems (DSS) were evaluated prior to commencing public participatory geographic information systems (PPGIS) workshops within a small rural town undergoing rapid development. A paucity of existing information regarding the capabilities of these tools and their utility in supporting various PPGIS applications was noted. In order to improve this situation and to better understand the strengths and limitations of the selected DSS CommunityViz, we monitored and measured its utility in supporting community-based spatial decision-making processes from both a technologist and citizen's perspective. Results indicate that CommunityViz has several strengths; however, the software exhibits some weaknesses in the context of our study. In assessing these results we realized that the utility of such findings could be much enhanced if contained within a structure that enables comparison between various DSS. Thus, a major objective was to develop and apply a DSS Evaluation Matrix (DSSEM) that can be used by PPGIS practitioners and participants to evaluate DSS in various project settings. The application of DSSEM will help formalize evaluations of DSS and encourage dissemination of results. Furthermore, it will assist practitioners, citizens, and agencies to make better choices when selecting DSS for PPGIS applications and provide DSS developers with the appropriate information to improve tool design.