Improving Decision Making in Extreme Situations: The Case of a Military Decision Support System

This article explores the capacity of a decision support system (DSS) to improve the quality of decision making in extreme situations. This DSS is actually based on a networked information system (IS). Academic literature commonly mentions models of fit to explore the relationship between technology and performance, reckoning users’ evaluations as a relevant measurement technique for Information System (IS) success. Although effective contributions have been achieved in measurement and exploration of fit, there have been few attempts to investigate the triangulation of fit between “Task-DSS-Decision Maker” under stressful and uncertain events. This article provides new insights regarding the assessment of advantages provided by networked IS for making relevant decisions under such circumstances. An original case study has been conducted. It is focused on a decision support system called Link 16 that is used during aerial missions. This case study shows that the system improves decision making on an individual basis and suggests to take into account three main criteria – compliance, complementarity and conformity – to measure DSS performance under extreme situations.