Method and apparatus for problem solving, decision making and storing, analyzing, and retrieving enterprisewide knowledge and conclusive data

A computer-readable medium containing a computer program for eliciting, processing, storing, and displaying information concerning a complex business situation, the computer program comprising:

• program code for accessing a knowledge base stored in an indexed and normalized form and providing for structured storage and retrieval of data
• a situation appraisal module operative to elicit, store, retrieve and present situation data, the situation data including (i) concerns about the situation and respective attributes of the concerns, the attributes of each concern including a relative priority and a process to be used for further analysis, and (ii) actions to be taken to address the concerns;
• a problem analysis module operative to elicit, store, retrieve and present problem data including an object of a problem in the situation and attributes of the object, the attributes including a deviation, possible causes, actions to be taken to confirm a true cause, a confirmed true cause, and actions to be taken to address the confirmed true cause;
• a decision analysis module operative to elicit, store, retrieve and present decision data, the decision data including (i) objectives of a decision regarding the situation and respective attributes of the objectives, the attributes of each objective including an indication of relative importance and at least one alternative, (ii) for each alternative a set of risks and respective probabilities and consequences, (iii) a final decision regarding alternatives to be pursued, and (iv) actions to be taken to implement the final decision;
• a potential side effect analysis module operative to elicit, store, and present potential side effect data, the side effect data including potential side effects of an action to be taken to address the situation and respective attributes of the potential side effects, the attributes of each potential side effect including a likely cause, actions to be taken to influence the likelihood of occurrence of the side effect, and actions to be taken in the event of occurrence of the side effect;
• and
• an action tracker module operative to (i) retrieve and present actions from the other processes, and (ii) to elicit, store, retrieve and present attributes of the actions, the attributes of each action including a responsible person, a deadline, and status;
• wherein each module employs a corresponding set of graphical user interface (GUI) modules screens in eliciting data from and presenting data to a user;
• wherein each module further includes providing user performance support that includes providing examples to the user regarding the data being elicited upon an indication by the user that such providing of examples is desired;
• and
• wherein each module further includes module checking to screen and filter data input by the user to ensure the completeness and correctness thereof.