Executive support systems help senior managers address strategic issues and long-term trends, both in the firm and in the external environment.
• ESS address nonroutine decisions requiring judgment, evaluation, and insight because there is no agreed-on procedure for arriving at a solution.
• ESS provide a generalized computing and communications capacity that can be applied to a changing array of problems.
• ESS are designed to incorporate data about external events, such as new tax laws or competitors, but they also draw summarized information from information from internal MIS and DSS.
• ESS are designed for ease-of-use and rely heavily on graphical presentations of data.