Thus, the main motivation for the development of the software tool to be described is that it is needed by our research program. Second, we believe that the tool will be useful by TQM practitioners and will fill a gap which currently exists with GSS software. We also wanted to explore the role of GSS in the problem formulation area in the context of a visible, and important area of practice. This is why we picked TQM as an area to examine the effectiveness of a GSS as an aid to problem formulation. To begin, we will explore problem formulation, groups, GSS, and visual GSS tools.
Many problems confronting organizations today are complex.
Furthermore, the expertise needed to make sense of a situation, rather than residing with one individual or group, may be distributed across many organizational actors. Unquestionably, a limited field of view is the greatest threat during the activities of problem structuring and formulation. The use of groups to analyze complex problems is a common way to gain access to diverse perspectives, multiple lines of reasoning, and expertise. Ultimately, through group interaction, a mutually agreeable common set of elements and relationships may be established. Because communication typically revolves around verbal or text-based interactions, miscommunication can occur.