Group Decision Support System (GDSS)

GDSS proponents claim that these sorts of technologies can advance the promotion of participation, help to streamline group communications and foster learning. Different vendors have begun to offer group decision support system products like ThinkTank and MeetingWorks, among others. There is also a move to develop open-source tools that are often called discussion support systems.

GDSS is another term that can be used in various ways as makers develop ever more versatile and sophisticated resources for helping to promote group work. Elements of local or distance participation, meeting scheduling and documentation, and auxiliary support features for brainstorming can all be aspects of a GDSS design. In the most basic sense, GDSS is related to decision support systems because both support human decision-making. The difference is that GDSS is specifically engineered to support a team or other group.