| Abstract: | ABSTRACT Water resources planning has emphasized the consideration of alternatives in the formulation of goals and objectives. With greater availability of data and projection models, optimization of plans is now much nearer to accomplishment. In contrast to these favorable aspects of planning, increased complexity of plans and large number of alternatives serving differing sets of goals have extended the time horizons from initial plan formulation to eventual implementation. In this paper a man-machine strategy is proposed to reduce the time required for decision making and conflict resolution. A panel of representatives of the decision makers, influentials and publics involved are selected and brought through a series of dynamic planning steps that simulate real time decision making. Computer interaction graphics is used to visualize the decision making process and to illustrate where and why conflict arises. A mechanism for resolution of conflict and retention of consistency in policy formulation using a cognograph is described. |
