Objectives
To understand the importance and be acquainted with the various types of Decision Support Systems available to institutions
To be acquainted with the adequate techniques (Data Warehouses, OLAP and Data Mining) and tools for the resolution of real problems concerning decision support
Skills
The student:
Knows what is an Information System and recognises its components.
Knows how to distinguish and give examples of the various types of IS available. Understands the fundamental concepts of Decision Support Systems. Understands the life cycle of a Decision Support System.
Knows the constituting elements and the importance of a Data Warehouse (DW). Knows the diverse OLAP operations.
Knows the main notions related to Data Mining (DM).
Knows the various types of problems and the main techniques and algorithms used in DM. Knows how to work with some IT tools for decision support
Is able to choose the adequate strategies for the resolution of problems.

1. Introduction to Information Systems
- General considerations
- Data versus Information
- Information Systems
- Components of an Information System
- Types of Information Systems
- Study cases
2. Decision Support Systems
- General considerations
- Decision-making process
- Ideal characteristics of a Decision Support System
- Types of Decision Support Systems
- The Decision Support System in Organisations
- Examples of the Application of Decision Support Systems
- Life cycle of a Decision Support System
- Trends
3.Data Warehouses
- Introduction to Data Warehouses
- Fundamental concepts in Data Warehousing
- Conception of a Data Warehouse
4.OLAP
- General considerations
- OLAP architectures
- OLAP operations
5–Data Mining
- Introduction to Data Mining
- Types of Data Mining problems
- Most used Data Mining techniques
- Evaluation of Models
- Data Mining methodologies
- Practical applications and analysis of study cases

- Information Technology for Management – Transforming Organizations in the Digital Economy, Turban, E. et al, Wiley & Sons, 4a Ed., 2004
- Sistemas de Suporte à Decisão, Bruno Cortes, FCA, 2005
- Data Mining – Practical Machine Learning Tools and Techniques, 2nd Ed., Ian Witten & Eibe Frank, Morgan Kaufmann, 2005
- Data Mining Techniques for Marketing, Sales and Customer Relationship Management, Michael Berry e Gordon Linoff, Wiley & Sons, 2a Ed., 2004
- Practical Business Intelligence with SQL Server 2005, John Hancock e Roger Toren, Addison-Wesley, 2007
- Sistemas de Informação para as Organizações, José Rascão, Edições Sílabo, 2a Ed., 2004.
- Data Mining - Concepts and Techniques, Jiawei Han e Micheline Kamber, Morgan Kaufman, 2nd Ed., 2006