What makes the development of decision support systems (DSS) particularly challenging is the change dynamics of the design space, the instability of initial specifications, and the lack of an adequate model of the decision making process. Facing these, one can appreciate a methodology that can drive the designer's creative effort within a particular decision context. The paper aims to outline the origin and the evolution of research on the DSS architecture commenced by Sprague and Carlson and carried on under the auspices of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and the International Society for Decision Support Systems (ISDSS)1. In particular, the paper presents insights, findings, recommendations and conclusions derived from case studies conducted in domestic medium-sized and large enterprises.