Engineering of complex technical, organizational and other types of systems is characterized by heterogeneity and variability of processed information, a high level of information uncertainty and the increasing role in decision-making of man as a carrier of holistic perception of the problem being solved. The paper discusses methods based on a visual-cognitive approach for data analysis and decision support under information uncertainty. The urgency of using this approach for decision making at the initial stage of a complex system life cycle is substantiated. This stage of concept development is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty and the predominance of creative search tasks. Based on the analysis of the concept development process using a system engineering approach, the structure of the decision-making pipeline and a set of tools for the implementation of its components are proposed.