The Significance of IS
This chapter explores the significance of information systems in modern businesses, demonstrating the productivity paradox, evaluating the argument in 'Does IT Matter?', and explaining the components of competitive advantage. It presents compelling examples of how information systems can provide businesses with a competitive advantage, gives real-world context to the role of information systems in decision-making, and offers expert guidance on utilizing information systems for competitive advantage.
Sidebar: Isabel – A Health Care DSS

Isabel screen shot
A discussed in the text, DSSs are best applied to semi-structured decisions, in which most of the needed inputs are known but human experience and environmental factors also play a role. A good example for today is Isabel, a health care DSS. The creators of Isabel explain how it works:
Isabel uses the information routinely captured during your workup, whether free text or structured data, and instantaneously provides a diagnosis checklist for review. The checklist contains a list of possible diagnoses with critical "Don't Miss Diagnoses" flagged. When integrated into your Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system, Isabel can provide "one click" seamless diagnosis support with no additional data entry.