A method is presented to compute the l(infinity)-gain of discrete-time linear MIMO systems which is based on a newly derived sequence of factorizations for G(z). By resorting to a chain-scattering representation of the system, the proposed approach offers a criterion enabling one to cope with the static output feedback l(1)-control design by solving a finite set of linear inequalities. Numerical examples are reported as well as an application to the synthesis of a performing decentralized l(1)-controller. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.