Hi, joey,

Automated decision making results in a single recommendation, taking into account the user's parameters and preferences. This is fine for simple things, such as figuring out which course you should take next, considering prerequisites taken and courses completed against courses offered and the curriculum.

But this is a dangerous tool -- it leaves out the human element. Preferrable -- and more common -- is the DSS, because it offers choices, and parameters for the user to make that choice. A simplified example is the search in Wikipedia -- if you search, for instance, on only a last name, it will list all people in Wikipedia with that last name, a single-line explanation of who the person is, and usually a percentage of probability that this is what you are looking for.

A DSS will winnow out all items in a database which do not meet the user's criteria, listing the ones left and those parameters which might further affect the decision.