A dialectical methodology for decision support systems design

The multi-perspective decision-making paradigm is extended to include a dialectical process to assist in developing decision support systems (DSSs) in "wicked" situations with much conflict among stakeholder groups. A dialectical methodology is proposed and applied to a wicked decision problem, namely urban infrastructure management, in order to illustrate the model. The dialectical analysis highlights conflicts among stakeholders and helps to focus DSS design attention on areas that may be problematic during implementation.