Applications of decision support systems in water resources planning: The goal-setting stage

There is a lack of software which has been specifically designed to assist the decision maker in the earliest steps of water resources planning, especially setting goals and defining the problem and key players at the regional or national level. Possibly as a result, some macro-level planning has been too narrow in its focus. Problem formulation and alternative development have been carried out with a much lower degree of completeness than, for example, alternative evaluation and project analysis. Much water resources goal setting has also suffered from a lack of comprehensive documentation which would allow a trace of the process. This has often resulted in opposition to major projects by stakeholders who may have felt disenfranchised in the decision-making and who may have distrusted the motives, goals, and procedures of the planners and project proponents. This research addresses some of these problems by presenting computer-assisted frameworks for setting goals in water resources planning. The frameworks include computerized decision support systems, such as expert systems and information management systems, and it also recommends the intervention of human experts and stakeholders in the process as appropriate. The systems presented are designed to foster communication among interested parties, assist in the identification of the basic problem, and in the setting of appropriate goals which can lead to the development of useful preliminary alternatives. These goals are generic only. The system described provides decision makers with a suggested approach to developing appropriate goals for the type of planning effort to be undertaken. It encourages the decision maker to consider a broad range of possible goals and rank them according to the perspectives of many different stakeholders. From this prioritized list of goals more specific objectives can be developed which in turn lead to scopes of work for the more detailed and familiar planning processes. The systems also help the decision maker maintain a documentation file which substantiates the ongoing process, so that full disclosure is available to all stakeholders. Ultimately, the goal of this research is to encourage the decision maker to avail himself of computer-based tools to improve the way he discovers and formalizes the goals and objectives of his water resource planning efforts.