This study will pursue opportunities for extending engineering- and science-oriented tools and approaches to newly emerging types of service enterprises." Consistent with this purpose, the study, after considering the scope, size and unique features of the U.S. service sector, identifies characteristics of emerging services from an engineering perspective, which, in turn, augur for a decision informatics paradigm for enhancing the production and delivery of services. Within the framework of this new and critical paradigm, the study is focused on the real-time fusion and analysis of multiple non-homogeneous data sources.
The intellectual merit of the study is underscored from two critical perspectives. First, it is problem-driven, not solution-driven. Thus, it is the engineering-related characteristics of emerging services that have clearly identified a need for decision informatics, which represents a paradigm shift towards real-time, information-driven decision making. Second, it will add significantly to the body of knowledge on the real-time analysis and fusion of multiple data sources. While there is considerable literature on data mining and pattern analysis, tools for undertaking real-time data analysis are lacking. For example, from a real-time decision perspective, it is critical to know whether the most recently received data point is part of the historical distribution of data points or an outlier that is, in effect, the beginning of a new phenomenon -- thus, adaptive, real-time decision making is not only affected by data input but also by the sequence of that input. Additionally, while there is considerable literature on the fusion of data from multiple, homogenous -- mostly quantitative -- sources, tools for undertaking real-time fusion of data from multiple, non-homogeneous (i.e., quantitative and qualitative) sources are lacking. Moreover, the coincident real-time fusion and analysis of multiple, non-homogeneous data sources represents an area that has eluded investigation; yet, emerging services -- especially e(lectronic)-services -- require such tools to enhance their production and delivery. It should also be noted that the study seeks to have the broadest impact, especially in regard to the integration of research and education. First, it constitutes the basis for a doctoral dissertation effort. Second, the developed, real-time data fusion and analysis tools will be applied to an existing service problem, employing real data from multiple, non-homogeneous sources. Third, the results will be presented and published in a number of venues. Fourth, the results will be appropriately structured and integrated into two existing courses being taught by the Principal Investigator; a graduate course, entitled "Evaluation Methods for Decision Making," and an undergraduate course entitled "Decision-Focused Systems Engineering." Fifth, consistent with the exploratory nature of the study, additional research needs will be identified to further underpin the decision informatics approach, similar to the continuing development of bioinformatics.
