What decision role does the system support?

HomeDepot.com offers a variety of design tools to aid in the decision making process for home improvement projects.  Specifically, HomeDepot.com offers design tools for the following:

¨      Plant Guide

-    Provides the customer with information needed to design a garden and provides information for plants purchased at Home Depot.

-    This tool provides limited decision support, as it only offers information regarding which plants that can be grown in the different climate zones.

¨      Ventilated Shelving

-         This tool offers three different options that include Professional Design Services, the Closet Idea Gallery, and the Custom Closet Design.

-         The Professional Design Services allow the customer to have access to design specialists who will design two illustrations for a single storage space that will meet the customers needs.  The customer will receive a line art drawing, color renderings, and parts lists.  This tool provides limited decision support since the tool does not allow the customer to experiment with various options.

-         The Closet Idea Gallery allows the customer to follow simple steps to obtain illustrated designs that meet the customers needs with a list of the parts needed to assemble a closet or organize a storage area.  This tool provides the customer with a high-level of decision support as it allows the customer to experiment with various design options and provides the customer with parts lists and pricing for the designs being considered.

-         The Custom Closet Design allows the customer to design his or her own closet space using on-line software.  This tool provides a medium-level of decision support as it allows the customer to experiment with different parts and designs, however, the customer does not have access to recommended designs from design experts.

¨      Solid Shelving

-         This tool is similar to the Custom Closet Design tool and allows the customer to design his or her own closet or pantry spaced using on-line software. 

-         As previously indicated, this type of tool provides a medium-level of decision support as it allows the customer to experiment with different parts and designs, however, the customer does not have access to recommended designs from design experts.

¨      Kitchen and Bath Designer

-         Provides the customer with a means to experiment with different design elements of a kitchen or bathroom.

-         This tool provides a medium-level of decision support as it allows the customer to experiment with various options, but does not provide any expert advice regarding the design elements.

¨      Behr-ColorSmart System

-         View coordinated color palettes and view color selections in a sample room or on the outside of the home.

-         This tool provides the customer with a medium to high-level of decision support as it allows the customer to experiments with different color selections, but also has access to expert advice on matching colors.

Of the design tools listed above, the Closer Idea Gallery, which is part of the Ventilated Shelving Design Tool, is the most robust and provides the most decision support to the customer.  As such, this report will focus on the Ventilated Shelving Design Tool and, more specifically, the Closet Idea Gallery for the knowledge acquisition, presentation and selection process.