The role of context in decision making: some implications for database design

With increasing integration of computer systems through local and wide area communication networks, there exists the capability in many organizations to retrieve information from databases to support ad hoc decision making by many different users. The idea that information is a corporate resource is now something more than business school hype. But the implications of sharing data are only just dawning on the corporate mind. How do managers interpret data? Where decision making is carried out by several people, perhaps in several different locations for different purposes the same data is used in multiple decision contexts. This paper explores the role of context as a way of adding value to information from databases. Two types of context are defined and discussed in relation to some examples of decisions where the role of context is vital. These examples are taken from some empirical research conducted with users of spatial decision support systems. Here the use of background information on maps, for example roads, add context to maps which otherwise simply display statistical data. The paper concludes by suggesting a model of context based on the notion that context acts as a filter between user and database.