Design Principles Influencing Secondary School Counselors' Satisfaction of a Decision-Support System
Date of Award
Spring 4-2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Information Systems (PhDIS)
Department
Business and Information Systems
First Advisor
Cherie Noteboom
Second Advisor
David Bishop
Third Advisor
Daniel Talley
Abstract
In the current era of accountability, secondary school counselors are expected to use data to drive program decision-making, identify and implement evidence-based interventions to create systemic change, and utilize emerging technology. Research shows it is difficult for school counselors to meet any of these expectations. A decision support system (DSS) is a technology that takes minimal effort to learn and can assist in decision-making processes. This design science research builds and evaluates an IT artifact, a decision-support system, in an attempt to solve the problems facing school counselors. To develop this system, four design principles (system usefulness, interface quality, information quality, and customization) were incorporated into the components of a DSS. A field study was then employed to test the DSS in multiple school counseling settings to determine if the IT artifact solved the identified problems, and also to measure the influence of the design principles on school counselors’ satisfaction of the system. Results indicated that 91.7% of school counselors agreed the system was in fact useful, indicating technology is capable of assisting school counselors in data-driven decision-making and identifying appropriate interventions for their program, as well as demonstrating the efficacy of design science research to solve problems. Furthermore, the SEM model used to evaluate the system showed that while all design principles were positive, interface quality had the most considerable influence on users’ satisfaction. This finding indicates the importance of using consistent interface design in the development of future technologies for non-technical fields. The research concludes with an updated model for decision-making in school counseling that incorporates technology in all phases of the process.
Recommended Citation
Crandall, Kodey S., "Design Principles Influencing Secondary School Counselors' Satisfaction of a Decision-Support System" (2020). Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations. 347.
https://scholar.dsu.edu/theses/347